
CHOOSING A PLAY 

By 
GERTRUDE E. JOHNSON 




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Book t J J* 

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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



CHOOSING A PLAY 



CHOOSING A PLAY 

REVISED AND ENLARGED 



SUGGESTIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY 

FOR THE DIRECTOR OF 

AMATEUR DRAMATICS 



BY 

GERTRUDE E. JOHNSON 

Assistant Professor in the Department of Speech 

Education in the University of Wisconsin 
Author of "Modern Literature for Oral Interpretation" 




NEW YORK 

THE CENTURY CO. 

1920 






SS 



Copyright, 1920, by 
The Century Co. 



■©CI.A597850 



CCT 16 1; Q 



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PREFACE 

In view of the fact that the magazine which 
printed even a list of one-act plays is instantly 
in great demand in that particular number, and 
also that constant calls were received asking for 
suggestions for a play, it seemed there might be 
a place for such lists, bibliography, and sugges- 
tions as are here compiled. I knew from experi- 
ence, that, obvious as the lists seem, they were in 
great demand by many who have no time to give 
to the finding of material for amateur production. 

The sale of the first edition in less than a year 
assures me that it fills a need and I have, there- 
fore, enlarged it, adding material in various 
forms, bringing it all up to date with complete 
corrections so far as possible. 

In chapter six I have endeavored to gather 
together some of the most helpful suggestions on 
acting, which have been given us by those who 
have succeeded, either as actors or directors. 



vi PREFACE 

There are several books and articles dealing di- 
rectly with problems of acting, but they are not 
generally available, and so these quotations may 
give helpful hints on various matters pertaining 
to this field. 

Exception will be taken by some to the nature 
of the lists, particularly to those of lower grades, 
on the ground that they are "trash." I hasten 
to agree to a certain extent, but let me add that 
they are the best of the lower grades, and so are 
some advance over much material that is being 
used every year in the smaller High Schools. 
Furthermore, while there has been a frequent 
publishing recently of books and articles touch- 
ing on all phases of dramatic activity, choice of 
plays, new movement, betterment of dramatics, 
pageantry, one-act plays, etc., very few, if any, 
have been of direct and unquestionable assistance 
to the smaller High Schools, whose number is 
legion. These schools stage several plays each 
year, and form a group which, to my mind, it is 
of vital importance to reach, if real advance in 
dramatics is to be made. 



PREFACE vii 

It has been my desire, however, to make this 
book of some direct assistance to all grades of 
amateur production. It is obviously impossible 
for some time yet, to hope to have "Androcles and 
the Lion" or "How He Lied to Her Husband," 
produced in towns of fifteen hundred, with only 
a few of the number, perhaps, who know even 
the author. It is reported by Library Com- 
missions which attempt to help the situation by 
sending plays of the "better type," that these are 
returned with letters saying that they are not 
what is wanted, that the people would not under- 
stand them, and that there is no one among the 
teachers who could put them on. I have been in 
touch with one commission and so have these facts 
first hand. Is it not advisable, then, to suggest 
something that will be possible, both of produc- 
tion and understanding in such a community, than 
to refuse to send a lower grade of material than 
we, in our academic halls, think best? 

Obviously, there is dire need in the schools for 
someone trained in dramatic work as well as Eng- 
lish, for it is so often the teacher of English to 



viii PREFACE 

whose lot it falls to coach the play. For that 
matter, it may be the teacher of any other branch, 
from history on through chemistry, or animal 
husbandry, so little consideration is given to the 
importance of having some one trained for the 
work. This is due, of course, to the fact that 
dramatic activity is considered of extra curricular 
significance, and not of any definite educational 
importance. With teachers of some training 
placed in these schools, we might hope to help in 
establishing a better understanding of play 
values, as well as of producing possibilities. We 
could thus attack the problems of dramatic taste 
and activities in the place where they would reach 
the largest number of people, and tend to develop 
into one of the most potent factors in the "New 
Movement.'' Meanwhile, it has seemed to me, 
as I said at first, that some lists should be avail- 
able for even the smallest schools, which are go- 
ing to produce something, whether assisted in the 
choice or not. It is in the hope that the lists of 
lower grades will be of assistance to some of these 
schools, that they have been compiled. As op- 



PREFACE ix 

portunity offers I trust the standard of selection 
will be raised in all the smaller schools. I repeat 
— such opportunity will not come to any great 
extent, until our educational institutions, par- 
ticularly our higher ones, are interested in the 
problems involved in our dramatic taste and ac- 
tivities, as an educational matter, affecting very 
definitely the people, and so the State. These 
institutions should set the standards in this as in 
other studies. They should realize that these 
problems affect the life of the community very 
definitely — what affects the community affects 
the State. 



CONTENTS 

PART ONE— DISCUSSION 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I The Theater as an Educational Insti- 
tution .. 3 

II Dramatic Production and the Educa- 
tional Curriculum 22 

III Why the One-Act Play? .... 48 

IV Dramatics in the High School ... 55 
V The Place of Pageantry in Community 

Life 69 

VI Notes on Acting . . . • . . . .83 

VII Details of Coaching 94 

VIII Material for Production .... 108 

PART TWO— DIRECTORY 

LISTS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY 

I Addresses of Play Publishers and 

Brokers 119 

II List of Plays (Graded) 123 

Grade One 124 

Grade Two .......... 129 

Grade Three . . ... . . . . 131 

Grade Four ....... 133 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

III Christmas Plays 135 

IV Plays for Women Characters . . . 137 
V One Act Plays in Pamphlet Form . . 140 

Grade One 140 

Grade Two 144 

VI One-Act Plays for Male Characters . 146 

VII Books of One-Act Plays 148 

VIII Plays Possible for Out-Door Produc- 
tion 157 

IX Plays for Study and Scene Work . . 159 
X Books of Plays for Children . . . 161 
XI Other Bibliographical Lists . . . 163 
XII Magazines and Periodicals of Assist- 
ance 165 

XIII Books and Articles on Pageantry . . 168 
XIV Books and Articles on Dramatization 

in School Work 173 

XV Books About the Theater and Acting 176 



PART ONE 
DISCUSSION 



CHOOSING A PLAY 

CHAPTER I 

THE THEATER AS AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION 

The number of attacks against the American 
theater at the present time would seem to indicate 
glaring faults in our theatrical system. Prac- 
tically every book, every article, every lecture on 
the American theater decries it as a failure. 
Generally speaking, the charge is that the Ameri- 
can theater, steeped in commercialism as it is, 
does not fulfil its highest duty to society. The 
conditions and limitations which commercialism 
has imposed upon our theater are many and far- 
reaching. 

"The first application of the commercial sys- 
tem was an indication of progress, a benefit to 
the actor and to the production in general. It 
was organized as a means of successfully support- 



4 CHOOSING A PLAY 

ing the drama. It raised the author and the 
player from penury, and raised the theater to a 
plane of a self-respecting profession." 1 "Com- 
petitive business among theatrical companies 
ought to be a stimulating thing. The trouble 
with the commercialized theater of today is that 
instead of supporting the drama, it has required 
the drama to support the system. Managers dis- 
covered that what had been a precarious trade of 
half-vagabondish players could, under organiza- 
tion, be magnified to a tremendous business of 
purveying entertainment to the appetites of 
newly awakened millions." 2 As a result of this 
discovery, the American theatrical system has 
gone over entirely to "big business." Thirty 
years ago the great theatrical syndicate raised 
its portentous head in this country. Before that 
time the large cities scattered in different sections 
of the country, St. Louis, for instance, San Fran- 
cisco, and Indianapolis, had their own inde- 
pendent producing theaters, which rivalled the 
things seen in New York. This independent 

i Dickinson, Thomas, "The Case of the American Drama," p. 94. 
2 Ibid. 



THE THEATER 5 

competition was stifled by an appalling theatrical 
monopoly which started in New York, as a 
shrewdly organized booking company, to dis- 
distribute touring companies throughout the 
cities of the United States. This action placed 
the entire control of our theater system in the 
hands of less than twenty men, a few New York 
producing managers whose aims determined and 
still determine largely what shall pass as dramatic 
art in all centers throughout the country where 
people gather for illusionment. 3 As Sheldon 
Cheney puts it, "Unless these managers see fit to 
feed favored theaters with plays bearing the 
Broadway stamp of approval the whole country 
becomes a dramatic waste." 4 So centralized and 
concentrated has the control of the theater be- 
come in the hands of a few producers that the 
theater monopoly has been able to fill its own 
theaters all over the country at its own prices 
with warmed-over New York successes without 
fear of competition in any form. It has been 
able to set a uniform price for practically all its 

s Hopkins, Arthur, "How's Your Second Act?" p 19. 
* Cheney, Sheldon, Editorial, "The Road Town Problem." "The- 
ater Arts Magazine," December, 1917, p. 47. 



6 CHOOSING A PLAY 

performances, cheap or expensive to produce, 
without regard for importance or worth. 5 It has 
been able to keep the same show running season 
after season reaping profits of hundreds of thou- 
sands of dollars. Under the monopoly system 
the gambling aspect of the theater business has 
developed. So profitable has centralization of 
theatrical control been found, that the exploiters 
have now become unwilling to keep going a pro- 
duction which brings them a profit of less than 
ten percent. "A play which does not realize this 
profit is discarded as a failure. Four failures 
out of five, then, must be paid for by the over- 
whelming profits of a single fifth production. 
Those plays which might earn two hundred dol- 
lars per week are killed off, therefore, to make 
room for other plays, frequently less worthy, that 
may earn a profit of two thousand per week. 
Big business demands that a play in order to 
earn the privilege of a continuance of its existence 
shall reap a profit of several hundred percent of 
the original investment. Any project which de- 

5 Matthew, Blunder, "What is the Matter with the Theater?" 
"Unpopular Review," January, 1917, p. 56. 



THE THEATER 7 

mands a profit of more than ten percent is not 
business, but gambling." 6 "And the profes- 
sional gambler," says Sheldon Cheney, "is the last 
person in the world to take a risk. So the Broad- 
way producer, afraid above all else to play the 
game in a new way, repeats himself year in and 
year out, and New York spills to the four corners 
of the country an unending stream of musical 
comedies and revues, and crook plays and society 
farces." 7 Thus the commercial theater has sub- 
ordinated all considerations of the drama to 
purely mercenary motives. A good play has 
come to mean a "successful" play, and a success- 
ful play to mean a play that earns enormous 
profits. The results of the capitalizing of enter- 
tainment have been deep-seated both as to society 
and art, and no phase of dramatic presentation 
has been unaffected. 8 

It is well to ask ourselves what it is that we 
are expecting from the theater and are not re- 

6 Hamilton, Clayton, "The Non-Commercial Drama." "Book- 
man," May 1915, p. 276. 

7 Collier, John, "The Theater of Tomorrow," "Survey," Jan. 1, 
1916, p. 385. 

s Dickinson, Thomas, "The Case of the American Drama," p. 94. 



8 CHOOSING A PLAY 

ceiving. How far ought the theater to be serv- 
iceable to civilization? What are the duties 
which we claim we have a right to demand from 
the theater? 

This statement may serve as a thesis for the fol- 
lowing discussion : The public has a right to de- 
mand of the theater, necessary and inevitable as 
it is, and powerful as are its possibilities for good 
or evil, a definite, conscious educational influence. 

In the first place we can not do without the 
theater. As an amusement, a form of relaxation 
and relief, it is a necessity. It meets a great hu- 
man need, satisfying natural curiosity, the crav- 
ing for excitement and the love of excursions into 
the world of imagination ; 9 and allowing freedom 
from self-interest. The complexity of modern 
life, American life especially, taxes our supreme 
strength. For proper balance, for health of 
mind and body, we need relaxation. We need to 
let down and to let down often. America of all 
countries can not afford to neglect her institutions 
which provide relaxation. With the growth of 

9 Curtis, Elnora Whitman, "The Dramatic Instinct in Educa- 
tion," p. 27. 



THE THEATER 9 

the industrial classes and the growing tendency 
toward specialized labor, has come the danger of 
developing in our people a narrow precision and 
definiteness, an inclination to be over-practical, 
one-sided, and perhaps machine like. A great 
proportion of our population are office-workers 
and mechanics, the nature of whose work de- 
mands primarily concentrated attention to de- 
tails. These men need, above all, a form of relief 
and relaxation which will open up new channels 
of expression, something to broaden their con- 
ceptions, something to free them from tenseness. 
Mr. Patrick in his book "The Psychology of Re- 
laxation" says, "There must be large periods of 
relaxation from the high tension life of today. 
If they are not provided in the form of healthful 
and harmless sports there will be instability, 
fatigue, and social outbreaks." 10 

The frightful movie craze is a form of relief 
which our people as a nation have eagerly grasped 
in their desperate need for recreation, for some 
sort of change from the monotony and strain of 
the work-a-day world. Now the drama is able 

10 Patrick, G. T. W./"The Psychology of Relaxation," p. 21. 



10 CHOOSING A PLAY 

to afford a complete relaxation. It provides an 
outlet for pent-up emotions, giving rise to 
laughter and tears; it provides a generous reac- 
tion after strain or intense concentration; it 
breaks down inhibitions; it allows of self-forget- 
fulness. Even when the emotions aroused are 
unpleasant, the effect is often in the nature of re- 
lief rather than of strain, since the person in the 
audience is not personally related to the action. 
The sympathy and interest are with the heroine 
or hero ; the spectator's fear of the villain is, after 
all, only in behalf of these people in the story, 
and because the spectator at the play is not di- 
rectly and personally concerned with the action, 
he can share completely the experiences of the 
players without self-restraint, or self-conscious- 
ness. And there is relaxation in getting outside 
oneself. The people need amusement as they 
need work and food and sleep to keep them sane 
and healthy. The theater as an effective form of 
amusement, then, is a social necessity which can 
not be ignored. The people created it, out of 
their necessity to satisfy their impulses, to indulge 



THE THEATER 11 

their leisure moments ; they always will maintain 
it, even when it is unworthy, out of their necessity. 
And the joy of the theater as a human necessity 
is that it educates while it amuses. It establishes 
a constructive leisure. 11 For it is in a man's 
leisure moments, when the bars are down, or, we 
may say, when he is off his guard, that he is most 
easily influenced, that his impulses are obeyed, 
that actions are stimulated, that impressions are 
made upon him. And the man at the theater 
does not know that he is being educated — there- 
fore he does not resent it. 12 He just sits in the 
audience and takes in his education, unknow- 
ingly, as easily as he breathes. The efficacy of 
the theater's power lies in its irresistibility. Lit- 
tle children have a passion for a "show." News- 
boys stand in front of playhouses and beg to be 
taken in. Even wfth the feeble-minded, the 
theater makes its appeal. 13 No religious disap- 
proval, no prudishness, no legal enactment, has 

n Burleigh, Constance, "The Community Theater," p. 113. 

is Stocking, Helen, "Social Theater and its Possibilities," "Over- 
land Monthly," April 1916, p. 268. 

is Collier, John, "The Theater of Tomorrow." "Survey," Janu- 
ary 7, 1916, p. 382. 



12 CHOOSING A PLAY 

been able to eliminate it from society. 14 The 
theater is inevitable. It appeals to all classes of 
people because it appeals to the senses. Human 
beings cannot resist the spectacle of a play, they 
cannot resist the sound of it, they cannot resist 
the story. And because everybody likes the 
theater, and never tires of it, the theater is demo- 
cratic as no other institution ever can be. It is 
universally appealing and therefore universally 
powerful. 

There are many sides to the theater as an edu- 
cational force. We shall not go into a discussion 
of its very obvious educational advantages. It is 
perhaps generally recognized that the theater 
gives us information, historical, for instance, in 
a form which we can keep longer than we can 
keep information gained in any other way. It is 
natural that the stage should teach more effec- 
tively than literature, for instance, because we 
can not forget what we have learned by watching 
events as they might really have happened, by 
hearing words as they might really have been 
spoken, and we are very likely to forget what we 

I* Andrews, Charlton, "Drama of Today," p. 207. 



THE THEATER 13 

have only read from a printed page. Education 
has come to include rather broad aspects, and the 
theater is unlimited in its possibilities for help. 
For one thing, in the theater lies the possibility 
of cultivating the taste of a nation. The theater 
is not only one art, but a combination of all the 
arts, the joint product of the efforts of all artists, 
musician, playwright, poet, composer, dancer, 
architect, sculptor, painter, and actor. 15 And 
the arts come in a pleasant form at the theater. 
The refining influence "gets over," therefore, 
easily, without a struggle, to an unconscious and 
receptive audience. The man who would not 
enter an art gallery on his life, will go to the 
theater, for the music perhaps, or, perhaps, for a 
favorite actor. He will see a stage picture which 
is good, which has esthetic value, and he will have 
gained something in the experience. Frequent 
enjoyment of beautiful harmonious stage setting 
will cultivate in him at least something of a taste 
for line and color and light. It works on the 
principle which governs our reading. Good 
books spoil bad ones for us. And so with the 

is Burleigh, Constance, "The Community Theater," p. 113. 



14 CHOOSING A PLAY 

other arts. Served as they are in combination 
with each other we gladly accept a little of each, 
and while we are being pleasantly amused, we 
learn to appreciate. 

"In all great art," says Charlton Andrews, 
"there is an unmistakable and emphatic ethical 
significance. ... A growing popular taste for 
the stage means a growing popular appreciation 
of a potent means of helpful comment on life." 10 
"Fine art," says Bernard Shaw, "is the subtlest, 
the most seductive, the most effective means of 
moral propagandism in the world, excepting only 
the example of personal conduct." 17 Oscar 
Wilde's theory is that life imitates art, and Archi- 
bald Henderson adds that "a comparison of the 
waning influence of the church with the wax- 
ing influence of the theater as a guide to conduct 
is a conspicuous verification of Wilde's suggestive 
theory." 18 Miss Jane Addams has made the 
following observation in connection with her so- 
cial experience, "In moments of moral crisis now, 
the great theater-going public turns to the Say- 
16 Andrews, Charlton, "The Drama of Today," p. 212. 
17 Henderson, Archibald, "The Changing Drama," p. 14. 
is Ibid. p. 17. 



THE THEATER 15 

ings of the hero who found himself in a similar 
plight. The sayings may not be profound, but 
they are at least applicable to conduct." 19 And 
Archibald Henderson comments again, "Indeed, 
we may go further and say that people of all 
classes in moment of emotional stress often un- 
consciously reproduce expression which they have 
heard their favorite heroes, heroines, and villains 
utter. Only a genius in the simple expression 
of elemental feeling, in a crucial situation is ca- 
pable of giving voice to natural feelings as if he 
had never witnessed the work of dramatic or Ac- 
tive art." 20 Certainly we cannot ignore the in- 
fluence which the acted drama has upon our moral 
conduct especially in our youth. The most im- 
pressive lesson we can learn comes through per- 
sonal experience. Second only to that in effec- 
tiveness is living the experience in "make-be- 
lieve." Seeing and hearing the thing acted on 
the stage follows closely in significance. Miss 
Elnora Whitman Curtis in her book "The 
Dramatic Instinct in Education" cites several in- 

19 Henderson, Archibald, "The Changing Drama," p. 17. 

20 ibid. 



1(5 CHOOSING A PLAY 

stances in which simple-hearted people have di- 
rectly admitted the moral inspiration which the 
theater has given them. One girl who had been 
vitally interested in Portia of "The Merchant of 
Venice," declared she wanted to be good now, 
" 'cause of her." It is easy to be indifferent to 
the statement we might read or hear, "The man 
who murders will be punished," but who can for- 
get a story he has seen impressively, grippingly 
acted in which a murderer suffers a terrible fate? 
When we consider how many of us go to the 
theater, and how often we go, and how closely 
associated the drama is with life, we can not deny 
that the theater will play a part in shaping the 
manners and morale of our people. In the words 
of Bernard Shaw, the theater forms "the mind 
and affections of men in such sort that whatso- 
ever they see done in show on the stage, they will 
presently be doing in earnest in the world, which 
is but a larger stage." 21 Thus far we have con- 
sidered the theater as a public institution where 
people go to watch and listen. If we give it a 

21 Stocking, Helen, "The Social Theater and Its Possibilities." 
"Overland Monthly," April 1916, p. 272. 



THE THEATER 17 

broader significance and consider the theater as 
all dramatic production, we find its greatest edu- 
cational influence, its highest developing power 
in the effect upon those people who participate 
in the acting, in amateur plays, in school plays, in 
''home talent shows" if you will. Amateur pro- 
duction is a force which can not be overestimated 
in the field of education. The large imitative 
factor in dramatic play of children makes it a 
rare educational instrument. 22 Dramatization 
in connection with education has offered an out- 
let for self-expression to young people, an oppor- 
tunity to break the fetters of self -consciousness, 
and to develop their dramatic instinct body, mind, 
and soul. 23 Eleanor Robson in an article on 
"The Theater and Education" remarked, "There 
is no school like the school of experience. The 
playing of parts can be experience in living." 2i 
An article by Miss Helen Stocking, "The Social 
Theater and Its Possibilities," takes the same 

22 Curtis, Elnora Whitman, "Dramatic Instinct in Education," 
p. 99. 

23 Stocking, Helen, "The Social Theater and Its Possibilities." 
"Overland Monthly," April 1916, p. 268. 

24 Robson, Eleanor, "Theater and Education." "Outlook," 
March 7, 1917, p. 412. 



18 CHOOSING A PLAY 

point of view. Through dramatization, Miss 
Stocking contends, a child brought up in unfavor- 
able environment may receive conceptions or 
ideals of taste, of properly spoken English, house 
furnishings, dress, school reform, in a word, the 
Art of Living, 25 Participation in dramatic 
forms presents possibilities for reforming and 
creating personalities. 26 For it is not what goes 
into the man that develops him; it is the thing 
which comes out, the thing which is responded to 
by expression. Miss Stocking has observed that 
there is real value in assigning to a timid child 
the role of a character of confidence and courage, 
in allowing him to assume the qualities he lacks. 
Out of the make-believe, something will remain 
in the child's personality. The bad boy finds that 
it is quite as interesting to direct his energy and 
emotional bent into deeds of chivalry and heroic 
deeds as into crime. 27 The children love the 
recreational exercise of their dramatic instincts, 
and there can be no doubt that grammar school 

25 Cf . note 24, p. 270. 

26 Stocking, Helen, "The Social Theater and Its Possibilities." 
"Overland Monthly," April 1916, p. 270. 

27 Ibid., p. 268. 



THE THEATER 19 

pupils are gripped with a stronger power than 
even the movies can exert. 28 In a word, dramat- 
ization is one of the most effective means of vital 
education. 

But the effect of the theater bears a less tan- 
gible aspect. There is a certain influence which 
the drama exerts over the theater-going public 
and over the drama-acting public which is rather 
hard to define. There is a certain richness which 
the drama gives us in taking us now and then out 
of the commonplaceness and sordidness of our 
narrow experience. Mary Austin calls it one of 
the things which make up a "glamor-filled life." 
"The theater," she says, "is a form through which 
man expresses and expands his relation to the in- 
visible forces. It is normal for man to live in an 
atmosphere of glamor. Under shadow or gleam 
of ideals, the human soul has its home. All chil- 
dren live thus, so do all primitives, so did most 
societies through most of history. It is thru 
glamor that men find deliverance, and all high 
motives are mythopoetic motives. A glamor- 

28Weller, Charles F., "A Children's Playhouse." "Survey," 
Feb. 19, 1916. 



20 CHOOSING A PLAY 

filled life is a life of dramatized relationships and 
dramatic consciousness. Through the deliberate 
use of dramatic powers, ideals may be changed, 
the quality of conscious life may be changed, and 
ultimately, as a matter of course, the direction of 
a social movement may be changed." 29 Richard 
Mansfield once passionately said, "The stage is 
for poetry, for all the things some of us, lying on 
the grass, with our faces to the skylark, dream 
of on a summer day or on a moonlit evening; 
those things that come to us with a whiff of the 
balsam pine, or the touch of a soft hand, or the 
discovery of a withered flower. Poetry is in us 
always and will crop out in the most hardened of 
us, and where we should always see it, and where 
it will forever awaken all that was born good and 
beautiful in us, is upon the stage." 

I have sketched briefly what the theater should 
be able to accomplish. As a necessary social 
force, as a perfect form of relaxation, it is in a 
position to teach more lessons to more people in a 
more attractive and stimulating way than is any 

29 Collier, John, "The Theater of Tomorrow." "Survey," Jan. 
7, 1916, p. 833. 



THE THEATER 21 

other force. It is able to teach moral lessons 
more easily and more effectively than the church 
or the school, because its scope is unlimited, and 
because it reaches people when they are receptive 
and unrestrained, through the pleasing medium 
of story and music and spectacle. The theater 
is able also to cultivate artistic appreciation in a 
nation, as well as to develop an understanding of 
history, language, good speech, of ideals. The 
theater ought to be our most efficacious civilizing 
and nationalizing agent. 



CHAPTER II 

DRAMATIC PRODUCTION AND THE EDUCATIONAL 
CURRICULUM 

"The theater is the most potent and direct 
means of strengthening human reason and en- 
lightening the whole nation. — Louis-Sebastian 
M. Mercier" 

Figures and deductions were collected from a 
questionnaire sent out in 1918 to some thirty of 
the leading colleges and universities of the coun- 
try — from California and Texas, to Maine and 
Virginia. Only co-educational institutions were 
addressed, and the larger proportion was state 
colleges or universities, as it seemed desirable to 
ascertain what the attitude of the people's institu- 
tions is toward dramatic activities. It was in the 
hope that more constructive attention and legisla- 
tion might be given to this important field and its 
proper educational function, that this question- 

22 



DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 23 

naire was undertaken, and it is in the same hope 
that the results are here submitted. 

Following is a list of the twelve questions 
asked, together with the letter which accompanied 
each set of questions. Replies were received 
from twenty-seven institutions, and the writer 
takes this opportunity to thank those who were 
kind enough to give full and helpful answers, and 
in some cases to send useful material. 

The Questionnaire 

Institution : 

Answered by: Title or position: 

1. How many Dramatic Clubs for men? Women? 
M. & W.? 

2. Which do you think the better policy in co-educational 
schools, to have clubs co-educational or separate? 

3. To what extent are clubs under faculty supervision 
and guidance? 

4. Do they give out-of-town performances ? 

5. Does the out-of-town performance offer advantages 
in added interest, training, receipts, assistance to communi- 
ties in the bettering of dramatics, sufficient to warrant urg- 
ing its allowance ? 

6. Are productions made in University buildings or out- 
side ? 

7. If outside, are clubs put under heavy financial burden 
in rental? 

8. If given in University buildings, are the producing 
elements adequate, viz : 



24 CHOOSING A PLAY 

a. Size of stage. 

b. Lighting. 

c. Scenery. 

9. Are the producing elements adequate outside, as above, 
viz: 

a. Size of stage. 

b. Lighting. 

c. Scenery. 

10. Do clubs do original writing or producing? 

11. Is a special "coach" engaged from outside the uni- 
versity ? 

12. If special coach is not secured, what faculty mem- 
ber has the work in charge? 

The letter read as follows : 

"I am conducting an investigation concerning dramatics 
as pursued in, and fostered by, various universities and 
colleges in the United States. May I engage your interest 
and assistance in the answering of the enclosed questions? 

"It is my belief that dramatic activities are given too 
little place in the regular work of our higher education 
institutions, and that they are considered entirely too much 
as an extra-curricular matter. As a result, too little en- 
couragement is given in the way of careful and competent 
direction, and adequate or even appropriate opportunity for 
rehearsal and production. 

"Anything you care to add in the way of a personal 
letter touching upon these questions, or on the matter as a 
whole, will be gratefully received and carefully considered. 
May we not hope to accomplish something for Dramatics 
through this questionnaire? 

"If you are interested in the results I shall be glad to 



DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 25 

hear from you and to send you whatever material I have 
gathered." 

Tabulations from the replies gave the follow- 
ing results : 

No. 1 Number of clubs for men. 11 

(5 musical comedy) 6 dramatic 

Number of clubs for women 8 

Number of co-ed. clubs 34 

No. 2. The better policy. 

Co-educational . . 2 

Place for both 

No view 

Separate and co-operate 

Either 

Both work well 

Separate, never tried the other. 

No. 3. Faculty Supervision. 

Censorship 6 

Advisory ,. . ., 6 

None at all 4 

Assistance 1 

Supervision 1 

Indeterminate 1 

Guides 1 

Direct Guidance 7 

No. 4. Out of town performances. 

Yes 11 

No T 8 

Through extension 3 

At times 3 

No answer , . . 2 



26 CHOOSING A PLAY 

No. 5. Does out of town pay? 

Yes 11 

No 4 

No answer 5 

Except in money 2 

Uncertain 5 

No. 8. Producing conditions in college buildings. 

Excellent 1 

Good , 5 

Fair 3 

Poor 12 

No. 9. Producing elements outside college buildings. 

Excellent 2 

Good 14 

Fair 3 

Poor ; 2 

No. 7- Expense incurred in producing outside college 
buildings. 

On a per cent, basis 3 

No answer 1 

Under heavy expense 23 

No. 10. Original writing. 

Yes 2 

No 17 

A Little 5 

One act plays 2 

Men's Musical Comedy , . . . . 1 

No. 11. Special Coach. 

No 14 

Yes ,.' 5 

At times 5 

Musical Comedy 8 



DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 27 

No. 12. Department doing most of the directing if out- 
side coach is not engaged. 

Public Speaking 17 

English S 

Anyone 3 

No coaching 4 

About half of those addressed expressed some 
interest in the effort of the questionnaire, sending 
helpful letters and data. Eight, only, cared to 
receive word of the results. 

A careful consideration of this data is disheart- 
ening, but, with the above facts before us, one 
need no longer wonder that Dramatics remain 
the most utterly extra curricular step-child, a 
thing to be conscientiously censored. Treated 
as a stranger, entirely outside the educational 
household, it is hardly to be supposed that much 
of constructive value may be expected from it. 

It is easy to see that the presenting opportuni- 
ties are utterly inadequate, and, apparently, there 
is little or no attempt to provide anything ade- 
quate. Students are obliged to depend upon a 
college audience, and they must meet the undue 
expense, which they are bound to incur, produc- 
ing in outside facilities. Faculties object to the 



28 CHOOSING A PLAY 

class of material presented, and yet, the students 
have no alternative but to present a class of ma- 
terial that will appeal to the average college 
group. 

Fifty- three clubs are reported in these twenty- 
seven schools. These are permitted to exist, but 
given no assistance to make them the constructive 
power in dramatic taste of which they are capable. 
Usually performances can be given only on week- 
end evenings, when even a student audience, of 
any size, or of a representative nature, is entirely 
a gamble, because competition of all week-end 
activities, of dances, parties, and the like, must be 
reckoned with. 

The question of the personnel of clubs has been 
raised in some places. In this connection it is 
interesting to note that thirty-four of the groups 
comprise both men and women, while of the 
eleven comprising men alone, five are musical 
comedy clubs, men taking the women's parts in 
more or less burlesque fashion. This leaves but 
six dramatic clubs for men alone, and eight for 
women. It is the opinion of twenty-one, who re- 
ply in very definite fashion, that the co-educa- 



DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 29 

tional group offers the only constructive oppor- 
tunity. 

Administrators, who are adverse to even dis- 
cussing the potential influence for good which 
presentations taken from the state institutions to 
other towns might exercise on these communities, 
should be interested in the following figures. In 
seventeen of the twenty-seven colleges, out-of- 
town performances are not prohibited. This is 
exclusive of the musical-comedy clubs composed 
entirely of men. These clubs exist, apparently, 
for the sole purpose of taking out-of-town trips, 
and their value to other communities is never 
questioned, — even though the public is all but lost 
in a sea of hopelessly inane, and useless musical 
comedy slush. Walter Pritchard Eaton in a 
recent article on "The American Theater and 
Reconstruction," * says, "A majority of the 
American people — and I believe, if the figures 
could be ascertained, a stupendous majority — 
are, at the present time, utterly beyond the reach 
of any influence the drama might exert." The 

i Eaton, Walter Pritchard, "The American Theater and Recon- 
struction." "Theater Arts Magazine," Jan., 1919. 



30 CHOOSING A PLAY 

drama has, in all ages, been a constructive force 
in the life of the people and nation where it flour- 
ished. It has yet to be proved that musical 
comedy has any right to existence on any similar 
basis. 

Perhaps the most interesting reports, from 
some points of view, were under the heading of 
faculty connections. In seven instances out of 
the twenty-seven, there is direct faculty guidance 
and assistance. Four say frankly there is none 
at all, six censor, and the advisory situation is 
really only another term for censorship. There 
are six of these, while the terminology used by the 
rest to explain whatever connection there is, is 
illuminating in itself. 

Most of the directing of this activity is in the 
hands of the department of Public Speaking. 
The work is certainly public speaking, and I 
know of no other department which should be 
so interested in seeing dramatic activity assume 
its proper place in the educational curriculum. 
I submit, however, that a competent coach of 
debate, or a teacher of argumentation, is not 
necessarily competent to produce a play. Also, 



DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 31 

I doubt if many such would feel the necessity of 
putting dramatic activity on a par with their 
debate work, much less, of seeing that it might 
have even more significance than that activity. 
In any case, the work of dramatics is being done 
successfully and correctly, with full authoritative 
backing, only by men and women whose interests 
are first and last in this field. For such depart- 
ments as have chairmen whose interests are else- 
where primarily, an instructor of the proper cali- 
ber and training, who shall be paid a proper 
salary, and not be dependent on some portion of 
the proceeds of each given performance, would 
go far to better the situation. People really 
trained and fitted for this position are few, and, 
when found, can command and deserve a place 
on any faculty, and a salary worthy of their 
powers. 

Under such conditions, dramatic activity has 
been carried on. In the changes to be made in 
the administration of education, is it impossible 
to bring this activity into its rightful relation to 
the life of the educational institutions, and thus 
assist in making it a constructive force in the 



32 CHOOSING A PLAY 

civic life of our communities? Mr. Eaton, whose 
article I have already quoted, says again, that in 
our reconstruction work dramatically, "we must 
strengthen all our independent (free of the 
trusts) playhouses everywhere, by making com- 
munities dramatically alive, by encouraging 
municipal recognition of the drama in practical 
form, by counteracting the dreadful blight of the 
movies wherever possible, especially through 
neighborhood playhouses and people's theaters 
and amateur groups and the schools. Every 
school should have, and some day will have, a 
stage and teach Shakespeare in action, to which 
end I believe the Drama League branches should 
seek everywhere to elect at least one member to 
the local school board." He adds, that today the 
trained capacity for dramatic judgment is non- 
existent, save in the two producing centers of this 
great country, New York, and in a much smaller 
way, Chicago. And still educational institutions 
have no place for educational work in dramatics! 
It is clear to those, who give constructive 
thought to the matter of dramatic production, 
that in no one direction do state supported insti- 



DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 33 

tutions owe a greater debt to the community and 
nation they serve, than in this very matter. The 
life of a nation, moral, social, artistic, even po- 
litical and economic, is not and cannot be separ- 
ated from its amusements. And yet, in these our 
great institutions of learning, save in some three 
or four instances, in the whole country, where are 
these problems attacked? What effort is made 
to establish taste and appreciation so that some- 
thing beside musical comedy and cheap thrillers 
may be appreciated? Is it no shame to these in- 
stitutions that, as a nation, we are almost without 
artistic taste in any direction, and are so rated 
by other nations ? "A national art consciousness, 
a national art unity is what is needed. Such a 
condition is at present impossible in America; 
and to the fact that it has been so long impossible 
I believe we can trace no little of our national 
indifference to vital drama, and our lack of a liv- 
ing relation to the theater. Further, so long 
as it remains impossible, I believe any attempt, 
or any hope, to make the drama serve national 
needs in reconstruction will be vain. And by 
national needs in reconstruction I hold not the 



34 CHOOSING A PLAY 

least to be a living contact with beauty, with 
things of the imagination, of the spirit, of the 
creative mind, with the great art works of other 
nations as well as our own, with things serious and 
abstract as well as frivolous and materialistic." 
I again quote Mr. Eaton. 

Courses are offered in our educational cur- 
ricula about the drama as a structure, and about 
dramatists. To what end? Academic to be 
sure, and the rest is silence. When the students, 
in such courses, have satisfactorily written their 
examination at the end of the course, all educa- 
tional ( ?) ends have been satisfied. 

Where is play-writing to be encouraged? 
Only in the offices of the syndicates? We find 
a great many people who object to the sort of 
plays produced, but when and where is the brand 
to be bettered? Such efforts, as are put forth, 
are again academic. Cannot we understand 
that this activity to be of any real value, must 
have a place in which to operate in actual experi- 
ment? Producers object to attempts which 
come to their hands, because they have exactly 
the mark they might be expected to have, never 



DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 35 

having any foundation save good English struc- 
ture, and a theorized form. Students could be 
interested in the arduous task of perfecting them- 
selves in this form of writing, if only they could 
go clear through the activity of seeing their at- 
tempt have actual presentation with something 
like adequate production. 

Trusts are discussed, civic problems are labored 
over, economics in all sorts receive full attention 
in our accredited classes. What of the full and 
complete subsidization of our theaters, visited by 
all classes to see whatever fare the syndicate sets 
forth, at whatever price it chooses to fix? Our 
young men are sent out versed in business ideals 
along many lines, prepared to seek legislation, 
to do constructive civic work. Is this not a field 
worthy of their best labors ? 

We are told that the class of students inter- 
ested in dramatics is not of the highest type ; that 
very often their grades are among the lowest, and 
that only a small number are interested anyway. 
If this be true, is there any likelihood that a 
larger and more important group can be inter- 
ested in this activity and its problems, so long 



36 CHOOSING A PLAY 

as our college faculties and authorities refuse 
even to consider the subject of dramatic presenta- 
tion, in other than the hopelessly defaming light 
of the completely extra -curricula activity, giving 
it no constructive assistance in any particular? 

The past few years have seen an attempt, more 
wide spread and far reaching than any previous 
one, to effect a change in affairs dramatic in this 
country. The movement has not been confined 
to this country. Indeed, our attempt is largely 
due to inspiration from abroad. Greater gains 
have been made in other countries than in ours, 
because of national interest, legislation, and back- 
ing. Anything national in this direction in this 
country is to be hoped for in the reconstruction 
period. Hope springs eternal, and so I say, we 
may hope ! Work of great importance has been 
done in France, in Germany, in Russia, and in 
England. To the cause in this country, men and 
women of the highest culture and training, col- 
lege men and women, have given and still are 
giving, their best thought and effort. Two 
things block them at every turn, an enormously 
wealthy syndicate with its bought and paid for 



DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 37 

press "criticism," and a public with little taste for 
things artistic in any form. It is in this problem 
of the public that educational institutions, of 
every rank, should take a part, and a prominent 
one. Their opportunity is with that vast number 
which is to go out year after year to affect, to 
make, indeed, the standards of our communities 
in this as in other fields. 

Our theatrical purveyors of best paying goods, 
assure us that they produce what the public 
wants ! Surely we are lost already if this is true. 
But it is not. Which public does the syndicate 
refer to? Is there only one? "It is a mistake 
to say that the public demands what it shall have, 
since that presupposes some standard already 
fixed by the public, and up to now so far as its 
taste is concerned, the American public has not 
set up one requirement." 2 "The continental 
public has gone dramatically to school for several 
centuries; it is artistically grown up, reasonably 
mature. Ours has been left to shift aimlessly for 
its schooling, practically unprovided b}^ our the- 
aters with formative discipline in art, good taste, 

2 Hopkins, Arthur, "How's Your Second Act?" p. 19. 



38 CHOOSING A PLAY 

or ideas, while it has spent its time crying for 
meaningless diversion, for which, for a consider- 
ation, it has been provided, ad nauseam, with the 
result that, like a spoiled child, it has lost all idea 
of what it is crying for." 3 

These words, coming from men well known in 
the dramatic world must carry some weight on 
the question of audience. And in this connec- 
tion, in a recent number of the "Fortnightly Re- 
view," 4 we find a noted English actor and scholar 
touching upon the same points we are trying to 
emphasize. Reviewing this, the London corre- 
spondent of the "Christian Science Monitor" 
writes, in part, as follows: "We have established 
a vicious circle, within which the public are given, 
and again in turn are taught to ask for, work 
that can serve no better purpose than that of whil- 
ing away a leisure hour. 

"Now this condition of things dramatic must 
end. The moral forces that war has nurtured 
among the democracies of the world, will not 
permit an instrument, so potential for good as the 

sMacKaye, Percy, "The Playhouse and the Play," p. 166. 
4 Eadie, Dennis, "What is the Matter with the Theater?" Fort- 
nightly Review, Nov. 1918. 



DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 39 

drama, to be exploited solely for the benefit of 
men of affairs. Means for restoring the player's 
art to the place that Shakespeare rightly claimed 
for it — as a mirror of the best thought of the time 
— will certainly be found. What is to be the 
nature of those means, we do not yet know ; but 
they may perhaps be intelligently anticipated. 
Among the more obvious will be the establish- 
ment of state-endowed theaters and opera houses 
which, by encouraging a taste for sound drama 
well acted and simply produced at low prices, will 
compete strongly with the production of rich syn- 
dicates; and will encourage less wealthy actor- 
managers, and producers with ideals again to 
venture upon the presentation of drama of which 
they need not be ashamed. 

"But the vital determining means of deliver- 
ance from present conditions are to be sought and 
found deeper down in the national consciousness. 
Those interested in the theater as an institution 
with a larger purpose than idle entertainment on 
the one hand or mere money-making on the other 
— and they are more in number than is generally 
supposed — must encourage in every possible way 



40 CHOOSING A PLAY 

— by presentation and production, by pen, by 
purse, by propaganda — the acceptance of a 
national drama, as an integral part of a wider 
national scheme of education." 5 

Here, it seems to me, is work worthy of the best 
efforts of the best in educational curricula. Dra- 
matic presentation and the community are 
mutually dependent on each other ; dramatic pres- 
entation depending for its existence on the sup- 
port of the people, and for its standards upon 
the standards set by the people; and there must 
be created in the people a desire for what is good 
in the theater. 

To accomplish this we should begin with the 
children in the elementary schools. How can we 
expect to bring up a generation which will evolve 
into an educated and discriminating audience, if 
we allow our children to believe that the height of 
dramatic excellence lies in western film dramas 
and Keystone comedies, and "lies and lies!" 
Children's theaters, supported by public funds, 
and participated in, and attended frequently, by 

5 "Christian Science Monitor." "Dramatists of Coming Years." 
Jan. 28, 1919. 



DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 41 

all the children in the city, will be of inestimable 
value in supporting the dramatic education in the 
schools. Such theaters are already operative in 
New York and in San Francisco. Between 
these two points there is yet considerable territory 
to be reached ! 

Conceptions of the drama and of dramatic pro- 
duction in all its phases, gained by pupils of high 
school age, are likely to be the conceptions they 
will retain as standards. Secondary education, 
therefore, ought rightly to include possibilities for 
rather broad training in the field of dramatics. 
The principles of good production should be 
learned by experimentation, which should be car- 
ried on along extensive lines. Ideally, all the 
pupils would have a fair opportunity to work 
with the drama in its many phases, and so, in Mr. 
MacKaye's words, go ''dramatically to school." 
The dramatic activity in our high schools under 
the present system, which allows only a small 
selected group to work intensively on an annual 
class or school play, is of very meager influence. 
Extensive participation in various productions 
will inevitably result in an interest in, and an un- 



42 CHOOSING A PLAY 

derstanding of, dramatic values. I will not take 
time here to name the departments of the high 
schools, whose interest and assistance should be 
engaged in this activity. The object should be 
to destroy the old idea that only a few "gifted" 
actors and actresses in embryo, are the only peo- 
ple to be interested in, or to profit by, dramatic 
activities. 

I believe the high schools, far more than the 
higher institutions of learning, have realized the 
possibilities in this field, and as a whole have done 
much better work in organizing it to its best 
advantage. They have the greatest opportunity. 
They deal with the greatest number, and can go 
far to mould taste and spread knowledge in the 
community with which they come in close and 
direct contact. 

One serious matter should be brought to the 
attention of principals and those in charge of dra- 
matic production, i. e., the way in which the funds 
from such production are disbursed. In several 
summers' experience with teachers, I find when I 
ask what is the greatest hindrance to progress in 
the work of dramatics, they say that it is lack of 



DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 43 

proper producing elements. They add, however, 
this need not be so, if only some portion of the 
income from productions might go into improve- 
ments. They say the students are eager and will- 
ing to work for such ends, as are the teachers 
themselves. The principal, however, has other 
ideas, and in far too many cases, we have subsi- 
dization of quite as heinous a sort as the syndicate 
evidences. The proceeds of athletics are turned 
back to athletics in great part, if only to pay the 
salary of the most competent director available. 
The money from a play on the other hand, may 
be appropriated for almost any school use, from 
a drinking fountain to a printing press — with no 
voice given to those who have produced the same. 
Not that it is inappropriate to make this activity 
prove its use, in some measure, after this fashion, 
but that constructive interest cannot grow, nor 
the proper producing elements be increased, un- 
less a 'portion of the proceeds of every perform- 
ance be turned back to a fund for the betterment 
of dramatics, and unless more than one person 
shall decide how the money shall be distributed. 
But it is to the colleges and higher institutions 



44 CHOOSING A PLAY 

we must look finally, if we are to have leaders in 
this field of endeavor. As the situation now 
stands, we have seen that the assistance rendered 
the dramatic condition of our country by our 
educational institutions is practically negligible. 
In general, the part the college courses and col- 
lege dramatic societies have played in the new 
movement, has been greatly exaggerated. Cer- 
tain narrow isolated phases of the drama and of 
production, studied by a small and unrepresenta- 
tive number of students, have been hailed and 
exalted as of great assistance in the field of dra- 
matic and theatrical improvement. To teach 
playwriting to thirty or forty students, or to pre- 
pare a few trained scenic artists is not to improve 
the general theatrical situation to any degree. 
Not until we can send out into the world a large 
number of college graduates with a broad under- 
standing of the whole comprehensive field of the- 
atrical production and its relation to the life of 
the nation, will we be rightly helping the situation 
Dramatic production in its broadest conception 
should be studied in our colleges and universities 
as other great social and economic problems are 



DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 45 

studied, and academic credit should not be denied 
courses in such a vitally important and humanly 
necessary subject. 

When the dramatic education of our audiences 
is on its way, then will the Little Theater, the 
pageant, the local stock company, and other 
efforts to improve the forms of theatrical activity, 
come into their own. As a correlated activity, 
and as a secondary aid to public education, they 
will be invaluable in keeping the standards of 
dramatic production high. When the public is 
awakened to the realization of the necessity to 
improve a great human institution, like the 
theater, by creating within itself a unity of ideal 
and taste, then we need no longer worry about 
being imposed upon by the low standards of a 
theatrical syndicate. Without the toleration and 
support of the public, the commercialized theater 
will be unable to exist. The solution of the whole 
problem lies through one medium only — the edu- 
cation of the people. This, it seems to me, rests 
very much more in the hands of the educational 
authorities, than they have remotely conceived. 
It is time to ask their full consideration. The 



46 CHOOSING A PLAY 

welfare of dramatic production in America is in 
the hands of the educational institutions. It is 
theirs to cherish or stifle, and the problem is 
second to none in its sociological aspects and 
importance. 

If, as directors of this work, we have failed to 
build as large as we should, if we have not fought 
as good a fight as we might, now is the time to 
make a new effort. Writers of plays are needed, 
trained directors are at a premium, artists, in line 
and color, have more opportunity than years of 
dramatic production have seen. Critics of real 
value in taste and vision, as well as sound dra- 
matic knowledge, who are unafraid of the 
syndicate, were never more in demand; even 
theater architecture is engaging the attention 
of the most competent builders. All this 
comes rightly under the head of dramatic ac- 
tivities. Literature on the subject, we have in 
a larger and more authoritative body than ever 
before. Surely the field warrants our united 
and untiring efforts, to place dramatic produc- 
tion among the accredited subjects in any cur- 
riculum. Three things militate against the work. 



DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 47 

First and always, inadequate producing possibili- 
ties; second, the lack of a regularly recognized 
faculty member, with rank and salary compar- 
able to any, to teach dramatics in courses that 
shall receive academic credit ; and third, freedom 
to work out the problems of this field without 
censorship ! Perhaps this evil would be removed 
if the second element were always present. Cer- 
tainly it should be. 

Let it not be overlooked by any one who reads 
this article, that it is as useless to attempt to carry 
on successful courses along any of these lines, 
with theory predominating, and with no adequate 
facilities for experimentation and complete pres- 
entation, as it is to teach painting without canvas 
and colors, or sculpture without chisel and marble. 
If our educational institutions are interested to 
better the standards of dramatic presentation in 
America, let an adequate place for that presenta- 
tion be provided in every such institution in the 
country. 



CHAPTER III 

WHY THE ONE-ACT PLAY? 

For all who are really interested to produce 
worth-while material the place and importance of 
the above named form of dramatic literature can- 
not be overlooked nor underestimated. 

The rise and activity of the Little Theaters 
has made possible the use of more material in 
one-act form than has been before feasible. One- 
act plays of a poorer sort have been used for a 
long time by clubs desiring the most trivial sort 
of entertainment, and as an act on the vaudeville 
stage, or as a curtain raiser. By far the greater 
part of all this material has been of an impossible 
sort, with no theme worth the naming, and less 
structure. The material now available is of an 
entirely different sort and worthy to be classed 
as literature. Much of it indeed is from the pen 
of some of the ablest of writers of literature in 

48 



WHY THE ONE- ACT PLAY? 49 

dramatic and other forms. Witness such names 
as Barrie, Shaw, Lady Gregory, Dunsany, Yeats, 
Synge, Chapin, Brighouse, Hausman, and many 
others abroad, while the names of Percy Mackaye, 
Susan Glaspell, Howard Brock, Ridgley Tor- 
rence, Alice Gerstenberg, Eugene O'Neill and 
Hartley Manners are only a few of the writers 
who have produced valuable literature in this 
form in this country. College and University 
groups have been quick to see the advantages in 
the use of this form of the drama and much good 
has been accomplished by their presentation of 
one-act plays. This writing and presentation has 
been encouraged largely, as I said, by the wider 
use of the form in this country, and more par- 
ticularly, perhaps, by the use of the one-act play 
in the best theaters of Europe. 

Mr. Lewis, Associate Professor of English in 
the University of Utah, author of "The Tech- 
nique of the One- Act Play," has the following to 
say in a recent bulletin sent out by that Univer- 
sity: "The one-act play is challenging our atten- 
tion whether we will or no. It is the most con- 
spicuous factor in present-day dramatic activity. 



50 CHOOSING A PLAY 

It is not the three-act play that is foremost in these 
times ; but it is the one-act form that is receiving 
the consideration of those interested in the drama. 
Theater managers in both Europe and America, 
stage designers the world over, actors, dramatists 
themselves, and likewise the professors in colleges 
and universities recognize its presence as a vital 
force. Professionals and amateurs alike are de- 
voting most zealous energies to both the writing 
and the producing of the shorter dramatic 
form." * While this is rather fulsome laudation 
of the place and importance of this form, it serves 
to show the sort of interest and attention being 
given to this matter of the one-act play. It is an 
interest and attention which should be fostered by 
all who care for the betterment of dramatic ac- 
tivity in the schools and on the legitimate stage. 

Doubtless there are objections to the use of this 
form as compared with longer plays, but it is also 
true that there is much to be said in favor of their 
use. It is not to be expected that a long theme 
will be developed, it is not desired. Indeed, the 

i "The One-Act Play in the Colleges and High Schools." Lewis, 
Extension Series, No. 2, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, 
Utah. 



WHY THE ONE-ACT PLAY? 51 

added intensity of treatment which is possible 
in the one-act play is one of its chief advantages. 
To quote again from Mr. Lewis' bulletin, "It 
must not be thought that because the one-act play 
deals with but one crisis or situation, it is weak 
and inconsequential; on the contrary, since only 
one event or situation can be emphasized, it fol- 
lows that the writer is obliged to choose the one 
determining crisis which makes or mars the su- 
preme struggle of a soul, the one great change or 
turning point or end of a life history. Such mo- 
ments are the really vital material for drama; 
nothing affords more wonderful opportunity for 
striking analysis, for emotional stress, for the sug- 
gestion of a whole character sketched in the act 
of meeting its test. To segregate a bit of signifi- 
cant experience and to present a finished picture 
of its aspects and effects; to dissect a motive so 
searchingly and skilfully that its very roots are 
laid bare; to detach a single figure from a dra- 
matic sequence and portray a sketch of its char- 
acter ; to bring a series of actions into clear light 
in a sudden and brief human crisis ; to tell a sig- 
nificant story briefly and with suggestion ; to por- 



52 CHOOSING A PLAY 

tray the humor of a person or an accident, or in 
a trice, to reveal the touch of tragedy resting like 
the finger of fate on an experience or on a char- 
acter — these are some of the possibilities of the 
one-act play when handled by a master drama- 
tist." 

I am well aware that smaller schools and towns 
are not accustomed to the program of one-act 
plays, and it will take a bit of management to 
have them accepted at first. It is worth the effort 
and the trial will, in most cases, convince you that 
the attempt was a distinct advance in your dra- 
matic activity. There are specific advantages 
which may be urged, and which will be at once 
appreciated. Usually the one-act play calls for 
a smaller royalty and this is a decided advantage 
to the small school which is ambitious to do some- 
thing better than of old. Again, more people 
can be fitted with better parts than is ever possible 
with one long play. That there is not the same 
value of sustained activity as in a longer part, I 
know, but not half the amateurs engaged in this 
activity are capable of attaining the same degree 
of success when called upon to sustain the situa- 



WHY THE ONE-ACT PLAY? 53 

tion of their character for the space of three or 
more acts. At least, this requires amateurs of 
age, training and experience. A great variety is 
possible in a program of one-act plays. Fancy, 
comedy in all degrees, poetry, tragedy, and all 
shades of characterization are available. 

There is also a wide latitude in the matter of 
costume and stage settings. Again the literature 
of Russia, Germany, France, England, Italy and 
Spain may be read and acted in this form. Many 
of the longer plays of these countries are impos- 
sible for amateur use because of the nature of 
the themes treated. Several of the foremost 
writers of literary merit in each of these countries 
are represented in the one-act play form. 

In a discussion of the values of the one-act 
play in Mr. Clayton Hamilton's "Studies in 
Stagecraft," he speaks in the highest terms of the 
desirability of the one-act play for amateurs. He 
says : "To encourage amateur acting is to prepare 
an audience for the keen appreciation of the pro- 
fessional theater; and any policy that meets the 
needs of amateurs should therefore be encour- 
aged." I urge that all directors of amateur dra- 



54 CHOOSING A PLAY 

matics give one-act plays a thoroly fair considera- 
tion and trial. They will prove invaluable in 
many otherwise unsolvable situations. 

A glance at the lists which follow and which 
are hy no means complete, will assure one of the 
amount of good material available in this form. 
The first list of over seventy books which contain 
only one-acts, comprises a group of over three 
hundred plays. The next list of plays of a very 
good sort, has over seventy, the other three lists 
comprise a hundred more, and brings the total to 
very nearly five hundred plays listed in these lists 
alone. I hope they may serve as a guide and an 
inspiration to the doing of better things. 

( See Part II, Sections V, VI, and VII for lists 
of one-act plays. ) 



CHAPTER IV 

DRAMATICS IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 

(Under my direction a questionnaire was sent in the spring 
of 1920 to 98 of the High Schools of Wisconsin, in towns of 2000 
and over. The questions had to do with the grade of plays pro- 
duced in the past five years, with titles of plays, amount of royalty 
paid, conditions for producing, and who did the directing. Re- 
plies were tabulated and deductions and observations made from 
the data received by R. E. Holcombe.) 

That the question of bettering the situation of 
high school dramatics is of paramount importance 
to the high schools, is attested by the fact that 
three-quarters of the replies to this questionnaire 
contained requests for a copy of the results. 

The greatest problem which presents itself is, 
apparently, the choice of material. The prin- 
cipal of one of the largest High Schools, in an- 
swer to the inquiry as to the attitude of the prin- 
cipal toward this work, states very clearly the 
importance of the choice of material. 

"In reply to your letter asking my attitude 
toward dramatics in the high school, I am very 

55 



56 CHOOSING A PLAY 

glad to be able to express an opinion, since it must 
be only an opinion as we have no means at present 
of measuring the value that our dramatic work is 
to the school. However, from apparent results 
obtained, I would say that it is one of the most 
important of our activities. 

"We see the effect of our training on our pupils 
in that for four or five years after they have left 
our school they apparently enjoy participation in 
the reproduction of good plays. They also en j oy 
listening to the reading and production of high 
grade work by other people. Our pupils have an 
appreciation of good things that they never would 
have had were it not for the excellence of the 
work done by our Dramatic Department. 

"I feel that our choice of plays is largely re- 
sponsible for this effect on our pupils. I cer- 
tainly condemn the spending of time and energy 
on cheap plays and trashy lines. I do not believe 
that the time of teachers or pupils should be given 
to such stuff. I do know that the work our 
pupils have done in producing the works of 
Shakespeare and other dramatists of high order 
more than fully repays the time spent in their 



DRAMATICS 57 

production. When I see other schools wasting 
their time on silly plays of no literary value and 
of no particular dramatic merit, it makes my 
heart ache. So I think that a dramatic depart- 
ment that gives attention to the production of the 
best things in literature is one of the strongest 
possibilities for good in the school; whereas, if 
the time of the dramatic department is given to 
trashy things, my opinion is that the work could 
be better left undone." 

Again and again, we find that in the smaller 
schools the choice of material is a matter which 
is given very little serious consideration. In this 
connection a number of difficult situations arise. 
Perhaps the person delegated to direct has once 
starred in "The Merchant of Venice, Up-to-date." 
Therefore, it is expedient that they pass down 
this valuable (?) play to posterity via the Senior 
Class. Or perhaps the principal "waylays" the 
director some noon to say that "so-and-so, son 
of the banker, influential with the school board, 
that is, — ah — er" — etc. — and the cast appears 
with the banker's son in the leading role — and, 
mind you, the play must be suited to show off 



58 CHOOSING A PLAY 

"son" as a young Lochinvar even though he is 
naturally quite unfitted for so heroic a role. In 
the smaller towns it is too often the case that 
poor material is appreciated far beyond its worth 
because the end in view is that of showing off 
daughter "Bess." If Henry can stand out from 
the rest, even to say, "The carriage awaits," the 
fond parents are satisfied and the play is excel- 
lent. For this type of difficulty I can only say, 
"Make the best of it." You can work gradually 
out of it by a little foresight and a generous 
amount of diplomacy always backed with 
knowledge such as a director should have. 

An exceedingly difficult situation to meet is 
the one voiced by those who say that better mate- 
rial would not be "the thing" for our town, "they 
just wouldn't stand for it. We have to give 
them what they want." This reaction seldom 
comes from those who have tried anything but 
this same trash year in, year out. "What the 
audience wants!" Breathes there an audience 
that knows what it wants? Ask typical theater 
goers what they want in theatrical amusement 
and then follow them to the theater and see what 



DRAMATICS 59 

they applaud, — something exactly the opposite 
of that which they expressed a desire to see, 
The questionnaire paid special attention to 
this one matter, "What part has the audience in 
determining the choice of material to be used?" 
In a majority of cases the answer was, "None," 
though, it was suggested that in many of the 
smaller towns this is not the case. However, 
even in the smaller towns, it is within the director's 
power to steer in the direction of better material 
though that power is not absolute. 

The director has the opportunity of bringing 
the high school play out of the rut of the trashy, 
gushy play, with its babbling lines to something 
a little more worth while. By plays of the "bet- 
ter sort" I do not mean that one should jump 
from "The Blossoming of Mary Anne," to Mil 
ton's "Comus," or to any artistic fantasy of an 
aesthetic type, but that, at least, one should not go 
from one year's "Fascinating Fanny Brown" to a 
next year's "Treacherous Tillie Tompkins" con- 
tinuously. It is only by taking to the up-grade 
that we can ever hope to gain our goal in high 
school dramatics. 



60 CHOOSING A PLAY 

The royalty element does, of course, influence 
the choice in a great many instances, and is an 
insurmountable barrier to many right thinking 
directors. The idea of its being impossible to 
pay any royalty, however, should be discouraged. 
Although a great many no-royalty plays may be 
suitable for high school production, it is true that 
the most desirable plays carry a royalty of from 
five dollars to fifty dollars. The plays carrying 
royalties of from five to fifteen dollars are, how- 
ever, the most desirable of these, since they are 
best suited to the ability of high school students, 
and to the conditions of staging on small stages. 

In many cases the management can well afford 
to pay for good material, but it does not like to — 
in fact, it almost insists upon a no-royalty play. 
In one instance, a principal told me that out of 
the play funds twenty-five dollars was gladly 
paid to decorate the hall for the dance to be held 
after the play, but that a play of no merit was 
chosen, instead of a worth-while piece, merely be- 
cause it was deemed impossible to pay a fifteen 
dollar royalty. Good material, though it may 
cost fifteen dollars, and necessitate volunteer 



DRAMATICS 61 

work and contributions in the decoration of the 
hall, will result threefold in the effectiveness of 
the play over any other amount expended in the 
interests of the play. With the procuring of 
good material, a tangible, real and vital link in 
the educational value of this activity is being 
welded. 

With acceptable material chosen, the place and 
conditions of production must next be considered. 
In the smaller towns, the high schools must either 
present in the town opera house or hall, or in 
the high school, on the shelf called a stage. In 
the case of the opera house, the cast often is not 
allowed to rehearse on the stage, and in many 
instances the rental price is exorbitant. 

Too often it is true that the school does not 
make the best use of the resources available. 
The greatest mistake, on the smaller stages with 
inadequate equipment, is that of trying to be too 
literal. 

A few suggestive details, carefully worked out, 
will add much to the atmosphere of the play, 
while an attempt at realism will invariably fail 
because of inadequate means at hand. Pieces of 



62 CHOOSING A PLAY 

tapestry hung here and there, on the burlap cur- 
tains, covering the back walls of the stage, with a 
rug thrown over a heavily built chair, furnished 
the suggestion of a room in a castle in a most 
effective school play, recently produced. The 
use of screens, curtains, or even a wall paper to 
cover some of the atrocious daubings called 
scenery, will do much to improve the situation 
in which you find yourself placed. As to the 
lighting, if it is decidedly poor, the ingenuity of 
the high school senior in that field is often of great 
assistance. Set a student at work upon the prob- 
lem, tell him exactly what you want — and the 
director should know what is wanted — and most 
desirable results may be attained. In all phases 
of production make the most of the means at 
hand. 

Some of the directors of dramatics complain 
that principals directly oppose the work on the 
ground that it takes time away from other work. 
Another situation, of which I was told by a pupil 
in the school in question, was this : The play, which 
the school had just staged, took up five weeks in 
preparation, the last three of which represented 



DRAMATICS 63 

an entire loss of school work on the part of the 
cast and upset the school generally, so that, ac- 
cording to the principal, himself, the whole school 
might just as well have been excused. Now, here 
is a situation to be met. More criticism has been 
offered upon this point than on any other. Prin- 
cipals speak of the play as a necessary evil for 
they know, in a great many cases, that it is virtu- 
ally a "time out" proposition. The dramatic 
department can be made or broken right at this 
point. What is the solution? In one high 
school this footnote appears at the bottom of the 
announcement of the cast of each play: "I will 
insist upon a maintenance of high grades through- 
out the time taken up with the play. No excuse 
whatsoever will be issued on the grounds of your 
being in the play. I reserve the right to take 
any student from the cast and substitute in case 
of delinquency." There is the remedy for the 
difficulty and it has worked for eight years, with 
the result that faculty and principal cooperate 
with the department, for they recognize the educa- 
tional value of the activity. A director has the 
situation in his own hands to a great extent, 



64 CHOOSING A PLAY 

and he should protect his position. No other edu- 
cational activity wastes the time of other studies, 
and so it should be with dramatic study. Place 
this activity on a par with the other studies, cease 
treating it as an "outside activity" and this com- 
plaint of lost time will be unnecessary. 

In order that the dramatic work of the high 
school may be taken out of the category of an 
"outside activity" in which it has been considered, 
it must first be brought into harmonious coopera- 
tion with the other educational activities of the 
school. Where the coach finds himself in dis- 
favor, he will do well to go over his work with 
that view in mind. Examples could be cited of 
high schools where dramatics was considered as 
an outside activity, and where now it is considered 
as a distinct factor in the educational curriculum. 
The change has been due almost entirely to the 
coach. When a school reaches such a point that 
the dramatic department is referred to as a 
source of added interest in English work, of 
the living out of the History lesson, of the vital- 
izing of other subjects even to Latin and Mathe- 
matics, and of adding a zest to the morale of the 



DRAMATICS 65 

school, then the educational importance of its 
work will be recognized. And it is no insuper- 
able task for the director to overcome the difficul- 
ties of the present and rise to such a position. 
Directors are too often guilty of supposing their 
lot is a peculiar one and subject to no law or 
order of the school. What a fallacious assump- 
tion it is that one should say that since the play 
work is not done within school hours it cannot be 
classed with other school activities! Regardless 
of when the hours come, that time is as valuable 
and as vital in the training of any high school boy 
or girl, as any moment spent in the class room. 
The director has a great responsibility — that of 
fixing the attitude in which the work is held. A 
discipline comparable, as far as possible, to that 
of the History class room, maintained throughout 
rehearsal of the play, will tell in its effect upon the 
participants, in the new attitude with which they 
regard what they are doing. An insistence that 
they should know their lessons as well as if they 
were asked by the Latin teacher to recite what 
they had prepared, will inspire a respect and re- 
sponsibility for what they had formerly con- 



66 CHOOSING A PLAY 

sidered an admirable opportunity for having a 
good time. To cooperate with the other depart- 
ments it is not only necessary that one should not 
steal his time nor hinder his work, though that is, 
of course, of signal importance, but furthermore 
that the dramatic teacher with foresight will seize 
every opportunity afforded in the way of mutual 
help in the work. 

Of late years, every text of educational psy- 
chology has laid great stress upon the educational 
value of the utilization of the play instinct. Edu- 
cators and psychologists have proved beyond 
question that play, directed, becomes education, 
and the need for this direction has at last been 
recognized in such movements as the Finlay- John- 
son dramatic method of teaching as well as in the 
organization of countless clubs throughout the 
United States, the "Mother's Clubs," "Parent's 
Leagues," "Associations for Child Study," the 
"Parent- Teachers' Associations," etc. Our edu- 
cators now realize that education in its truest 
sense lies in the development of self-expression, 
the freeing of the agents of expression in the 
individual. Old methods of formal, static educa- 



DRAMATICS 67 

tion are being revised into a vital, living and 
breathing self-expression. Every means, which 
can with proper direction, bring about the most 
complete self-expression in wholesome channels 
should be promulgated during the period in which 
the pupil is attending high school. That means 
which offers the most complete schooling of the 
emotions as well as the most complete self-expres- 
sion is found in the high school play. At this 
time, the drama of the high school can be pre- 
sented to prepare the growing boy and girl for 
the drama of life. Reactions to conditions in 
dramatic play are preparations for reactions to 
conditions in later life. This preparation and 
adaptability is what we now understand real edu- 
cation to be. 

In all dramatic work the emphasis is not placed 
upon one element to the exclusion of others, but 
the aim is toward a full development. The 
powers of the mind are made keener, the bodily 
movements made to take on new distinction in 
ease and decision, the voice is made more pleasing, 
and the entire human mechanism coordinated into 
a harmonious whole. In this process the normali- 



68 CHOOSING A PLAY 

ties are tested and the abnormalities shown up for 
immediate correction. The high school play 
offers in its educational uplift through a training 
of the vital physical powers, a preparation for 
citizenship which will help to free the individual, 
the group, and the nation from the tragedy of 
emotional repression. 



CHAPTER V 

THE PLACE OF PAGEANTRY IN COMMUNITY LIFE 

(Much of the work of the following chapter was done under 
my direction by Geo. H. Shalts, now of Southwest Texas State 
Normal College.) 

The interest in out-door production has grown 
very greatly in the past few years, and while 
there is a large portion of the country in which 
climatic conditions will not permit of very much 
out-door producing, still the interest has been 
keen. Many teachers and social workers have 
constructed tableaux, plays and pageants from 
local material, and although such exhibitions may 
be crude, they have the marked advantage of ap- 
pealing to the students and adults of the school 
and the community. The movement for organ- 
ized activity, dramatic and otherwise, in the com- 
munity made great strides forward during the 
war period when the value of such organization 
and such activity was fully demonstrated. The 



70 CHOOSING A PLAY 

organizations which had charge of this work at 
that time are being established as permanent 
agencies for social betterment in recreation. So 
it seems that we should give some consideration, 
as directors, dramatic instructors, or whatever 
we may be called, to the place of pageantry in 
community life. 

"Our industrial system," writes William Mor- 
ris, "must provide as a first essential that the 
products of work shall be a joy to the worker 
who produces them as well as to the consumer 
who uses them." But how can such principles 
apply to the man whose daily work is, let us say, 
to take merely a typical example, that of turning 
out the twentieth part of a shoe, a gown or a 
chair ? 

In the vocations of modern industry the divorce 
between joy and labor has become too absolute 
for them to be reconciled. Therefore increasing 
cry and protest for shorter hours of industrial 
labor. But to what end? The answer of the 
foresighted is — Art — the recreative labor of 
leisure. For by art, freed from industrialism, 
labor is again reconciled with joy. 



PAGEANTRY 71 

The reorganization of leisure thus becomes 
stupendously important — the real goal of all the 
vast strivings of our momentous age, in which 
countless millions are battling desperately, often 
blindly, to emancipate the deepest instinct of 
humanity — the need for happiness. 

Utterly divorced from art in their industrial 
labor, it is indeed no wonder that the people are 
slow to conceive art as their only salvation in 
leisure. Yet, tho they are slow to conceive 
this truth of themselves, they are very quick to 
respond to it when demonstrated by the leader- 
ship of artists. Their astonishing response to the 
introduction of public music and pageantry dur- 
ing the last ten years gives ample and auspicious 
promise for the regeneration of their leisure. 

No issue, political or industrial, before the pub- 
lic today exceeds in immediate importance, or 
prophetic meaning, the problem of public recrea- 
tion. New as the voicing of this issue is in the 
nation, one may yet, with confidence, predict that 
it will soon rank among the foremost in the plat- 
forms of social and political campaigns — and be 
recognized at the seat of government — for its 



72 CHOOSING A PLAY 

need is as dire as the problems of industrialism 
which cause it. 

The use of a nation's leisure is the test of its 
civilization. Public amusement is a matter of 
public leisure. No more important consideration 
exists for a busy people than the matter of its 
leisure. Day in, day out, and all day long, the 
typical American is strenuously engaged in hard 
work — in what is technically called "acts of pro- 
duction." To what purpose? Presumably for 
happiness. But happiness — unless work be- 
comes an end, instead of a means to life — is a 
matter of consumption. 

In organized leisure certain significant facts 
are noted: First — organized amusement recog- 
nizes art, but debases it for private profit. This 
is true of our commercial theaters, vaudeville 
houses, moving picture shows, dance halls, etc. 
Secondly, our leisure where organized for educa- 
tion or religion, ignores art entirely, while seeking 
to uplift the public without it. This is true of 
our public schools, universities, churches, libraries. 
The notable exceptions are the playground asso- 
ciations, institutions for public music, and our 



PAGEANTRY 73 

sporadic festivals and pageants. It is these ex- 
ceptions, though still in great minority, that con- 
stitute the vital elements of regeneration. Thus 
merchants and speculators prove themselves more 
deeply discerning of human nature than edu- 
cators and philanthropists. The former at least 
recognize the human craving for art, even while 
debasing it, and so achieve their own ends. The 
latter often fail to achieve their nobler ends by 
ignoring this universal fact. 

Obviously then, the people prefer art, however 
crude, to the lack of it, and desire it to the extent 
of paying money for it in preference to a free but 
artless public enterprise. That they shall come 
to prefer fine art to crude or depraved art may 
only be compassed by cultivating them at the very 
core of their public amusement. But such culti- 
vation on a large scale has proved to be incom- 
patible with private profit. Hence the need of 
organization of public leisure for public profit. 
Pageantry satisfies an elemental instinct for art, 
a popular demand for poetry. This instinct and 
this demand, like other human instincts and de- 
mands, are capable of being educated, refined, 



74 CHOOSING A PLAY 

developed into a mighty agency of civilization. 
Art brings pleasure into life exactly in propor- 
tion as the people are sharers in the processes of 
its creation. Athletic games are almost the only 
recreation left in which great numbers of people 
actually join. In all other cases professionals 
are paid to furnish amusement. At the theater, 
in the concert hall, what is seen or heard is the 
work of specialists; the majority know nothing 
from actual experience of what they see and hear. 
It is this ignorance which has led a few artists to 
despise their public as incapable of properly un- 
derstanding art. It is true that most of the arts 
demand knowledge and skill in technique long 
and difficult to acquire, hence beyond the reach of 
a busy industrial population. There are few who 
can obtain the leisure necessary to learn some- 
thing of the creative side of painting, or sculpture, 
or even of music. But fortunately, this need not 
be true of pageantry. Its whole point lies in the 
fact that it is not and cannot be the work of a 
single individual. It is a cooperative art in which 
there is opportunity for all to share according to 
the measure of their time and skill. 



PAGEANTRY 75 

The opportunity to play has largely been taken 
away from us by organized amusements. We 
have been forced back into a listless, indifferent 
audience, instead of being allowed to become a 
part of the merry-makers themselves. Little by 
little we have come to feel that all merry-making 
must be done for us, by people hired to do it, and 
that all the part we need play in it is to applaud 
or to criticize. We have grown to think that it 
is undignified to express joy, that it is only fine 
and elegant to observe it quietly. 

Americans as a people have allowed others too 
long to furnish and commercialize their entertain- 
ment and their means of social, religious, and 
patriotic expression. Had the people themselves 
given voice to these higher emotions of their lives 
they would have done much to elevate themselves 
above the dull routine of the life of our material- 
istic age. To achieve this end the pageant was 
developed. It aims to tap the wealth and genius 
of related arts and to encourage non-professional 
men and women to make their individual contribu- 
tions to the common store of talent, which shall 
find expression in the production of a living 



76 CHOOSING A PLAY 

drama depicting the historical development of 
their own community or social group. 

The purpose of the pageant is primarily to 
educate, to revive or maintain a memory of the 
past. Historians have long desired a means by 
which the great mass of people may be made to 
pause now and then to reflect upon the past and 
upon the lives of those gone before, and who have 
laid the foundation for the prosperity and the 
greatness of the present. The great majority 
of people read little history. Young America 
rushes forward, rudely pushing aside the irksome, 
detaining hand of the past as something of no 
moment, while around our gas ranges and steam 
radiators there is but little room to shelter our 
Lares and Penates. To the world at large the 
picture of the past will always be dim unless 
some way can be found of investing dry facts 
with life and interest so that the stage of history 
may be once more reconstructed. Humanity has 
ever been popularizing its history thru the 
work of the story teller, the bard, the poet, and 
the novelist, but these agencies have not been 
sufficient to touch vitally the lives of all the peo- 



PAGEANTRY 77 

pie. Because of this the pageant, the drama of 
the people, is being hailed as an effective instru- 
ment which will assist materially in awakening a 
new interest in history and in creating a new civic 
interest. 

As the term "pageant" is now used, it means a 
dramatic representation of several scenes, either 
tableaux or miniature integral dramas which are 
unified by prologues. The real pageant is given 
out of doors, its spectators number thousands, 
genuine distance gives its beauty to the produc- 
tion, the stage is as vast as the eye can reach, 
and the production aims to reproduce actuality 
rather than illusion. The giving of a pageant 
is an act of veneration or of patriotism. At pres- 
ent it is done to honor town or hero and becomes 
a great civic rite. This function of the modern 
pageant one would never wish to change. A play 
is continuous action on one theme; a pageant is 
interrupted action on related themes. A play 
has unities of time, place, or action, while the 
pageant dispenses with all of these. A play must 
be given on an indoor or outdoor stage, while the 
pageant aims to employ the entire landscape, or 



78 CHOOSING A PLAY 

at least in its approaches and backgrounds. On 
the whole we may say that a pageant is a hybrid, 
bred between the procession and the play. The 
play is an indoor product, but the pageant should 
be an outdoor performance in which the place is 
the principal character, not the individual. 

While the primary purpose of the modern 
pageant, then, is to revive or maintain the memory 
of the past, it should be further used to arouse and 
promote civic healthfulness and pride. All of 
this is to be done by the cooperative effort of the 
entire community. Mr. John A. Gundlack, 
chairman of the executive committee that ar- 
ranged the Pageant and Masque of St. Louis in 
1914, gave voice to the civic value of pageantry 
when he said, "Our one great hope that has moved 
us to assume the responsibilities and labor in- 
volved in this great undertaking is that out of 
the beauty of art will spring an aroused civic 
pride and love of home that will develop a sense 
of community obligation and mutual cooperation 
of such force as will sweep into being a new era in 
our municipal life.'' It is claimed that the public 
spirit aroused by the St. Louis pageant was re- 



PAGEANTRY 79 

sponsible for the adopting by that city of a new- 
charter against which the political powers of cor- 
ruption and graft had marshalled their strength. 

A pageant to be a success should be the work 
of the entire community. The people of the com- 
munity must want a pageant and it should be 
conceived and directed by local talent instead of 
professional showmen, for no group of people 
from the outside can come in and do the thing 
successfully. The true pageant will socialize the 
community and give a a cohesiveness to its life 
because it is an entertainment to which all can 
contribute. 

As a moral agent, the pageant has a strong 
value. To condense a century into two and one- 
half hours makes a rich lesson in social and polit- 
ical progress. Pageantry is the cleanest and 
most wholesome form of drama. The commun- 
ity is given an opportunity for self-expression. 
The criticisms directed against the theater are 
lacking against it. Ministers, teachers, and 
others who oppose the theater from moral con- 
viction, are vitally interested in the cultivation 
and success of the community drama. 



80 CHOOSING A PLAY 

The pageant is possible for a community of any 
size. The small town furnishes the best soil for 
its growth ; because in it there are fewer distract- 
ing influences. Unity of feeling and action are 
therefore more easily acquired. Successful page- 
ants are given in large cities, but nevertheless it 
is impossible to bring about the personal responsi- 
bility and interest in the large city as in the village 
or town. 

No advertisement of a community is more 
legitimate and effectual than a splendidly organ- 
ized pageant. Artistic competition in pageantry 
between cities would stimulate industry, trade and 
education. To this end, a Master of Pageants 
should regularly be appointed to public service 
in each city. Such appointments would neces- 
sarily associate civic leaders with leaders in the 
fine arts, an association which would enlarge the 
horizon of both. 

However, it is not right to assume that the 
highest social value of the pageant may be gained 
from a spirit of loyal cooperation. If the pa- 
geant is lacking either in artistic or dramatic 
qualities it is a failure, for the reason that such 



PAGEANTRY 81 

a pageant does not establish a true standard. 
Weeks of preparation spent in doing something 
that is not a work of art leaves behind them only 
a false standard to show for effort expended. 
No slovenly or inartistic performance may be 
excused on the ground of the splendid spirit 
aroused thru the work, or by the fact that the 
people have had a chance to express themselves. 
Pageantry must set a high standard of produc- 
tion. It may be simple, but it must be well done, 
or it cheats not only the audience but the per- 
formers. 

Last of all the pageant must leave with the 
people a definite sense of something new in their 
lives — some definite awakening and response to 
this new form of art, that stimulates the com- 
munity or individual with a desire for a more 
intimate expression in an art form. It may be 
the beautifying of the town, the formation of a 
local orchestra, classes in dancing, or organiza- 
tions for serious dramatic study. The establish- 
ment of a permanent pageant committee to carry 
on the spirit of the pageant from year to year is 
an excellent thing. The historical pageant, the 



82 CHOOSING A PLAY 

celebration of Christmas, Thanksgiving, or local 
holidays, may offer the opportunity for the com- 
munity to give to these occasions a new and artis- 
tic form of commemoration, of such value that 
they may become occasions of widespread interest, 
and even give the town national importance. 

(See Part II, Section XIII, for books and 
articles on pageantry.) 



CHAPTER VI 

NOTES ON ACTING 

Since most of the acting done in the country 
is to be seen only in New York, it follows that to 
study the art first hand one must sojourn there 
for some time. Failing that, as the great mass 
of us have to, we may be so fortunate as to see 
good acting, once in a great while in some other 
large city, where the syndicate, the producer and 
actor finally agree to present. 

By far the greater part of this great country 
is left in outer darkness dramatically, and neither 
good nor bad acting is seen. Sad to relate, there 
is not so much wailing and gnashing of teeth in 
this same darkness as would be of some import, 
because the sop of the movies keeps us fed, at 
least, pacified. To know much about acting then, 
most of us must read about it. 

Unfortunately, again, there is n't much writ- 
ten about it save in the way of criticism of the 

83 



84 CHOOSING A PLAY 

latest Broadway production, which may or may 
not be of value to one who wishes to know about 
acting, I have gathered together from many 
sources, various actors and producers of repute 
and standing, the following notes and present 
them here in the hope that they may serve to 
give helpful illumination on some of the problems 
which humbler directors have to meet. Possibly 
they will help to answer some of the questions fre- 
quently asked by both the amateur actor as well 
as director. 

David Belasco 

"The five all-important factors of a good actor 
or actress are, ability, imagination, industry, 
patience and loyalty." 

"Great help may be gained from rehearsals, 
not only by going through your individual part, 
but by watching the training of all the others." 

"Through the eyes of a listener I can form a 
truer judgment of their emotional capacity and 
imaginative faculty than in any other way." 

"It is most important that the individuality of 
the actor, whatever be the character he is to inter- 



NOTES ON ACTING 85 

pret, be preserved; for individuality is the essen- 
tial qualification of the great artist. So at the 
outset I suggest little to my people, in order to 
make them suggest more. I appeal to their 
imagination, emotion and intelligence, and draw 
from them all I can. When I can get no more 
from them, then I give them all there is in me. I 
coax and cajole, or bulldoze and torment, accord- 
ing to the actor's temperament." 

"The stage director cannot dispassionately ex- 
plain to his people how he wants them to act, and 
expect them to throw their whole soul and being 
into it. He must first, himself, definitely imagine 
every scene in which they appear, and then lead 
them up to it by working upon their intelligence, 
imagination, and feelings. But it is also true 
that no two can be taught alike." 

E. H. Sothern 

"Of the qualities necessary for the actor, I do 
not think there is any question but imagination 
stands first. Then comes intelligence to discover 
what is the thing to do; then to exercise one's 
emotion to try and define what one's behaviour 



86 CHOOSING A PLAY 

would be under those imagined circumstances, 
and then to acquire the means wherewith to ex- 
press those emotions — physique, the grace of 
mind and body which can be cultivated. Get 
control of your means, especially the voice." 

George Arliss 

"Conserve the more emphatic movements for 
the more emphatic situations, thus keeping the 
whole performance on a natural plane. It is a 
mistake to force the voice. Niceties of inflection 
are not possible if one constantly uses a heavy 
voice. Phrasing, too, is very important, to give 
variety and emphasis to the thought of the play. 
An arrested attitude tells of mental suspense 
more graphically than words possibly can." 

John W. Cope 

"To give a good performance you should be- 
lieve in your role, and think the lines at every 
rehearsal. You should eliminate every unessen- 
tial movement of the hands and head, and avoid 
unnatural incessant facial expression, or as the 
actor calls it, 'mugging.' " 



NOTES ON ACTING 87 

Gkanville Barker 

"The contributory things to the art of acting 
are not only things that should be studied by us ; 
they are things that should be studied by every 
person in the community. There is none of the 
grace of speech, of the grace of gesture, of the 
sensitiveness of the general education in expres- 
sion and understanding; there are none of those 
things which the actor has to learn which it would 
not be better for every single member of the com- 
munity to learn." 

"The art of producing is almost always the art 
of leaving well enough alone." 

Robert D. MacLean 

"Acting is a matter of sense rather than of 
mechanics. Mechanics are useless without some- 
thing to say. Talk sense." 

"Be direct in your methods to avoid being dif- 
fuse in interest. Directness means getting the 
gist of things. Walk and stand naturally. You 
must not move about or you will lose ground. 
That seems almost a paradox, but it is true. Do 



88 CHOOSING A PLAY 

not forget that eyes play a large part in acting. A 
whole gamut of emotions may be expressed with 
eyes that have been trained to speak. Then, too, 
voice and gesture cannot be too smooth." 

Minnie Maddern Fiske 

"Great acting is a thing of the spirit; in its 
best estate a conveyance of certain abstract 
spiritual qualities, with the person of the actor as 
the medium." 

"Consider your voice; first, last and always 
your voice. It is the beginning and the end of 
acting. Train that until it responds to your 
thought and purpose with absolute precision. 
And next your imagination. After all, an actor 
is exactly as big as his imagination." 

"The ideal director must possess the ability to 
teach the young to act. The director's first task 
is to study the play in its spiritual significance. 
The director interprets the play. His first busi- 
ness is to guard the interest, to preserve the in- 
tegrity of the play. Any director worth his salt 
must be fit and willing to take off his coat and 
roll up his sleeves." 



NOTES ON ACTING 89 

"Does the actor feel the grief he tries to pic- 
ture? It is different with different players. I 
should say he feels an intense sympathy. The 
intense suffering he may feel in the earlier per- 
formances becomes a matter of memory. He 
remembers the method, the symbols, by which at 
first he gave it expression. He remembers the 
means, and relying on that memory, need not 
himself feel so keenly." 

"The essence of acting is the conveyance of 
truth through the medium of the actor's mind and 
person. The science of acting deals with the per- 
fecting of this medium. The great actors are the 
luminous ones. Be sure of this, the essence of 
acting is the expression of the abstract thing, 
courage, fear, despair, anguish, anger, pity, piety. 
The great roles are, in that sense, abstractions." 

Henry Miller 

"The most important part of the theater is the 
audience. It 's the third leg of the dramatic 
milking stool. The actor forms his conception of 
the part, he plays it as it is seen through his par- 
ticular temperament; but there is always his 



90 CHOOSING A PLAY 

obligation to the audience. He can create a 
semblance of naturalness in the part, but not at 
the expense of being seen and heard. The actor's 
conception of a role is worth nothing until he gets 
it over to his audience. He is absorbed in a part 
but without ever forgetting the audience he is 
playing to." 

Joseph Jefferson 

"Feeling and imagination are above every- 
thing, but the study of gesture and elocution, if 
taken in homoeopathic doses and with great care, 
may be of service, but great effects can be pro- 
duced only by great feeling, and if the feeling 
be true and intense the gesture and elocution 
must obey it. It is safer, however, to study 
gesture and elocution than to study nothing. 
Elocution will at least assist one in articulation 
and this important adjunct is too often slighted 
on the stage." 

Richard Mansfield 

"You should speak good English. Very few 
people do. I am touching here, I think, upon 



NOTES ON ACTING 91 

one of the greatest evils and most formidable 
troubles. It is here that careful teaching is 
necessary in the pronunciation of words and the 
use of the voice. It seems to me that anybody 
will succeed on the stage, in the church, or at the 
bar with a truly beautiful voice. Without it, it 
is hard to work a charm. Learn how to use your 
voice, not to abuse it; how to preserve it and re- 
serve it; where to place the voice; never force 
the voice or betray its limitations. " 

Julia Marlowe 

"Success is intensity. Idleness is emptiness. 
Where it is, there the doors are thrown open, and 
failure troops in. 

"The stage will be found thoroly worth while 
to that person who is willing to devote to it as 
much attention and toil as is given by any skilled 
craftsman to any particular trade. But a tech- 
nical knowledge of other arts is distinctly help- 
ful to the actor." 



92 CHOOSING A PLAY 

Louis Calvert 

"No matter how much we know about the art 
of acting, we must depend most of all upon our 
voice to express it to others." 

"Tones are most important, I think; and tones 
can be cultivated, indeed they may be said to be 
the result of cultivation in the case of most actors ; 
nature gave them the instrument on which they 
play, but she did not teach them how to play it." 

"Begin each word properly; if we take care of 
the consonants the vowels will take care of them- 
selves." 

"Stage effects do not come by chance, they 
are the result of studied effort." 

"Unless there is a definite reason we should 
never move on another's speech." 

"After all, repose is what we should aim for. 
With gesturing, as with almost everything else, 
the less one does of it the better. Too many 
gestures are worse than too few. We should 
never make a big gesture where a little one will 
suffice. Thought should always precede our 



NOTES ON ACTING 93 

gestures, they should always grow from some- 
thing inside." 

George Henry Lewis 

"After the management of the voice, actors 
most err in the management of the body: they 
mouth their sentences, and emphasize their gest- 
ures, in the effort to be effective, and in ignor- 
ance of the psychological conditions on which ef- 
fects depend." 

"Gestures, to be effective, must be significant, 
and to be significant they must be rare." 

"It is because few actors are sufficiently re- 
flective that good acting is so rare." 

"If the actor really feel, he cannot act; but 
he cannot act unless he feels." 

"What is called inspiration is the mere hap- 
hazard of carelessness or incompetence." 

"Actors learn their parts as singers learn their 
songs. Every detail is deliberative, or has been 
deliberated." 



CHAPTER VII 

DETAILS OF COACHING 

The general details and discussion of the busi- 
ness-like organization, which makes for success 
in any dramatic undertaking, large or small, are 
admirably set forth in Mr. Taylor's book, and 
should be carefully considered by the amateur 
coach. In brief — be clear, concise, firm, and 
business-like in all the conduct and arrangements 
of any production. 

I. Casting the play. As to casting the play, 
the tryout system would seem to offer opportun- 
ity for the best decisions, all parties considered. 
It depends again on the individual situation. 
Often tryouts would be unnecessary and a waste 
of time, the coach being entirely able to make 
wise and just choice. If tryouts are used, the 
parts need not be memorized, and the reading 
should be done in the lines of the play which is to 

94 



DETAILS OF COACHING 95 

be produced. If the coach has some training in 
such matters, and is acquainted with the group, 
decisions should be left entirely in his or her 
hands. The coach should be thoroly familiar 
with the play and be able to choose parts clearly 
and quickly. 

II. Rehearsing. (Consult Clark, chapters 
one, two and three, and Taylor, chapter four.) 
Usually in the average High School, it will not 
be deemed wise to put more than the minimum of 
time on a production, and so careful rehearsal ar- 
rangements should be made. Appropriate place 
and time should be chosen, and rehearsals fitted 
to suit the requirements of the regular school 
schedule. Prompt attendance on all rehearsals 
can then be demanded and obtained. Six to 
eight weeks should be sufficient for producing in 
any circumstance, and in many cases less time 
should be sufficient. Five weeks should suffice 
in a majority of instances. Work of a concen- 
trated sort for a shorter period is more desirable 
than fewer rehearsals spread over a longer time. 
At least, this seems to be the opinion of a great 
many principals who have the adjustment of the 



96 CHOOSING A PLAY 

entire school schedule in mind. If possible each 
member of the cast should have a complete copy 
of the play. In manuscript form this is impossi- 
ble, and so at the first and second rehearsals the 
cast should be made familiar with the play as a 
whole. The coach should always be clear in his 
own mind as to all points concerning the produc- 
tion, from the choosing of the cast to the fall of 
the final curtain. Decision and clarity of pur- 
pose are of prime importance in coaching. I 
find much better results by working one act at a 
time until it is in fairly good condition, then tak- 
ing another, and so on, then returning to polish, 
point up and connect. Parts need not be letter 
perfect at the first rehearsal, but at a very early 
time thereafter the cast should be made to do 
without their lines in the act upon which they are 
working. They incline to hold to the printed 
lines much longer than is necessary, and should 
learn how soon they may trust their memories 
to serve them. I find rehearsals of two hours 
not too long. Try to avoid having them all in 
the evening. Eight hours or more a week should 
be allowed, full cast rehearsals, on a four or five 



DETAILS OF COACHING 97 

week production. Few acts will run over thirty- 
five minutes at most, when they are in working 
shape, and an act of that length is likely to be 
the longest in the play. I refer more particu- 
larly to modern plays. 

Avoid remaining at work on the first act too 
long, space the time to be put on each act and 
adhere to the original plan. Frequently, one 
act of the three or four will be longer, possibly 
more difficult; often it will take longer on the 
first act simply because it is the first and the 
actors and coach have to get into the swing of 
the thing. Make allowances for these things in 
the rehearsal plans from the first and then go 
right along. One unaccustomed to the business 
is likely to spend too much time on details, or on 
one act that seems not to be quite right, and then 
suddenly realizes that the time is growing short. 

Difficult situations in the acts may be given 
special rehearsals, but, as a principle, avoid the 
special rehearsal, enough time has been planned 
for and as little more as possible should be used. 

Students who have been wisely chosen for the 
part in the cast usually will sense their lines quite 



98 CHOOSING A PLAY 

clearly. Let them all work along for a time be- 
fore making many suggestions, and you will be 
saved from making many. Of course if a part is 
being wrongly interpreted you will not allow it to 
go on for any time at all, but don't keep suggest- 
ing on the lines, etc., for, as I have said, much will 
arrange itself if given time. When you are 
ready, clear up as many points as possible at once. 
Be clear about the stage business, entrances and 
exits, crosses, and other action almost from the 
first, and you will be surprised to find, that, given 
a clear knowledge of where they are to go and 
when, the cast as a whole falls into the swing of 
the lines and situations with a degree of ease and 
spontaneity greatly to be desired. 

IIL Stage business and directions. Most plays 
contain fairly good directions, some are excellent 
in this regard. A coach who is really competent 
should be able to judge these directions at their 
true worth, appreciating why such crosses and 
movements are valuable — or the reverse. There 
are many, however, called upon to put on a play, 
who do not even know the meaning of the stage 
terminology, nor up stage from down stage. It 



DETAILS OF COACHING 99 

is certainly their misfortune not to have had some 
opportunity to prepare themselves, in some de- 
gree, in this line of work. The two books to 
which I have referred will help such ones a great 
deal. A course in dramatic production in a col- 
lege or university would help infinitely more, — 
were such courses given. It may be necessary 
to change much of the business and directions, 
even lines, as the stage settings available may not 
conform to the play's original requirements. 
"Enter R. 1" may have to be "Enter L. 1," in 
which case, much of the business of the entire 
act may have to be reversed. It is entirely 
possible to rearrange the business, only care must 
be taken to keep group values, crosses, positions, 
and all stage business in the same relations as 
was intended in the original arrangement. At 
each rehearsal set your stage with clear indica- 
tion of exits and entrances, and such pieces of 
furniture as are to be "practical." Insistence 
should be made in this detail. Work out the 
crosses and other business with care, but do not 
dwell too long on minor details. Many of these 
will take care of themselves before the act is fin- 



100 CHOOSING A PLAY 

ished. Smooth up positions, etc., when the act 
has begun to move as a whole and the cast can 
feel its swing. "Business" should be referred to 
in terms of the stage even with the most ama- 
teurish group, hence the need again that the coach 
should know the terminology. Those who are 
to perform parts in any play should learn some 
of the fundamentals of good stage business; such 
as management of exits and entrances; group- 
ings; standing; sitting; point lines; balance; ad- 
vanced foot, etc., etc. Chapter five in Mr. Tay- 
lor's book should be carefully perused by any un- 
trained coach, as it contains matter on the above 
topics which will be helpful. 

IV. Staging, scenery and lighting. It is here, 
perhaps, more than anywhere else, that knowl- 
edge of a definite sort is needed. So much is pos- 
sible now under all the above headings, that only 
knowledge gained from reading, practise or train- 
ing, or from all together, will be of real assistance. 
A helpful bibliography on these subjects is now 
available, a large, detailed, and valuable body 
of literature, such as has never before existed. 
Its existence is due largely to the new movement 



DETAILS OF COACHING 101 

and its ideas now being demonstrated in many 
theaters throughout the United States. Direc- 
tors of dramatics, in whatever form, should 
acquaint themselves with as much of this liter- 
ature as possible. For the coach in the smallest 
schools, the two books already named, together 
with "Costumes and Scenery for Amateurs," by 
Constance D. Mackay, Henry Holt and Co., pub- 
lishers, will serve admirably. These books con- 
tain excellent cuts as well as good subject matter. 
A bibliography largely complete will be found in 
this book, and it is hoped that it may be of service 
to many who have not hitherto become acquainted 
with this literature. The old order is changing 
and "suggestion" is the new word. There are 
greater possibilities than ever before for smaller 
schools to produce, under the newer ideas of treat- 
ment. 

In too many instances, school and college audi- 
toriums and stages are still being constructed, 
apparently with little or no consideration for the 
important place dramatics should hold in the cur- 
riculum. As for seven out of every ten of the 
already existent auditoriums and stages, they are 



102 CHOOSING A PLAY 

at once prohibitive of any successful achievement. 
Stages are too high, they are out of proportion 
to the rest of the room, audiences are seated so far 
to the left and right of the stage opening, that 
only about half of any gathering ever sees the 
stage at all. Room behind the proscenium open- 
ing to the right and left of the stage is vitally 
essential for any good use, while depth is of para- 
mount importance. It is almost too much to 
hope for space above the stage but even this 
should be insisted upon, and if a hard wood floor 
can be avoided, by all means let it. It is con- 
ceivable that scenery in some form will need to be 
attached to the floor now and again, a difficult 
matter on a resounding, slippery, hard wood floor- 
ing. If it be argued, as it will, that the stage has 
to be used for the commencement speaker, and 
who knows what other speakers, and any floor 
other than of hard wood will look unfit, remember 
there are such possibilities of covering as a rug, 
useful many times too, and the fact remains, you 
cannot attach to a hard wood floor. The stage 
is often extended in a semi-circular fashion into 
the auditorium in front of the line of the pros- 



DETAILS OF COACHING 103 

cenium arch, why, it is hard to state, for it is a 
dead waste of much needed space. Plead to have 
that precious space put at the rear of the stage 
for depth and use. I have said, "suggestion is 
the new law," hut without depth for perspective 
the task of creating suggestive details is difficult. 
Avoid the use of the old painted sets, or if used, 
repaint them making them simpler, less ornate 
and vivid in color, using neutral colors both for 
interiors and exteriors. If there is an art depart- 
ment let it experiment. Use all your means at 
hand in every department in every possible way 
and added interest for the activity will result as 
well as better results in staging. Study the use 
of curtains for settings, canton flannel preferably, 
in greys or tans. If real advance is to be made 
the horrible painted atrocities of the average stage 
equipment must be subdued, — replaced. 

Few schools, even in large towns, have a proper 
lighting system for stage use. Indeed, if the 
stage as a place for dramatic presentations has 
been crippled by its structural impossibilities, it 
has been actually maimed by its lighting facilities. 
Lack of knowledge in this matter should no 



104 CHOOSING A PLAY 

longer be an excuse for those who are building, for 
there has been much written on the subject in the 
past ten years. School-board, inform thyself. 

In brief, lighting should also be suggestive, soft 
not glaring, concealing as well as revealing. 
Foot-lights are glaring, soften them; if no dim- 
ming process is installed color the globes a pale 
amber and it will help somewhat. Study what 
lighting is for, think what light in reality does; 
use thought in the whole matter. Call a council, 
some student will be interested and capable of 
assisting with the electrical problems, some paid 
electrician may be. Find out about reflected 
light. Many homes have the latter, why not try 
it for your stage. "Foots" and "borders," the 
old stock in trade, are also out of date and the 
new word in lighting is suggestion. More ad- 
vance in stage production has recently been made 
in the department of lighting than in all the other 
departments put together, — find out about it. 

No school should be without at least two maga- 
zines which help to keep one in touch with the best 
things of the theater. "Theater Arts" magazine, 
7 E. 42nd. St., New York, and "The Drama," 



DETAILS OF COACHING 105 

59 E. Van Buren St., Chicago, 111. The April, 
1920, number of the former will prove of great 
help if only for the one article, "Stage Machinery 
and Lighting Equipment." 

V. Make-up and costume. Excellent sugges- 
tions on the matter of make-up will be found in 
chapter six of Mr. Taylor's book, and in Appen- 
dix I, of Mr. Clark's book. Costume is dealt 
with by the latter author in chapter nine, and 
Miss Mackay's book on this subject already re- 
ferred to will give valuable assistance. In all 
costume plays care should be taken to make the 
costuming as authentic as possible. 

As for making-up, nothing but practice under 
direction will give one real expertness, but cer- 
tainly it is one of the elements which is horribly 
handled. It is capable of much improvement if 
one will give it a little study and some practise, 
and the average results in amateur productions 
would thus be greatly bettered. The best prac- 
tical book on the subject, a really good one, is 
"Making Up," by James Young, published by M. 
Witmark and Sons, 144 W. 37th St., New York 
City, $1.25. I would add this book to the list of 



106 CHOOSING A PLAY 

three already mentioned, and call the four an 
absolute necessity for the untrained coach of 
amateur dramatics. Other books dealing with 
make-up are, a small pamphlet published by 
Charles Meyer, 26 and 28 Union Square, New 
York; "The Art of Theatrical Make Up," by 
Morton, a foreign publication obtainable at 
Brentano's, New York, I think, and costing $2.00. 
The latter is a rather pretentious affair and not 
very helpful for an amateur. It contains excel- 
lent cuts for study. "How to Make Up" Fitz- 
gerald, obtained from Samuel French, New 
York, for fifty cents, is another inexpensive af- 
fair, but it is my opinion that the first named 
book is by far the best of all these for all ordinary 
purposes. The M. Stein Cosmetic Co., New 
York, furnishes the best full line of make-up 
material obtainable at present, since foreign-made 
materials are not available. Leichner's make-up 
is the best when available. Charles Meyer, whose 
address is given above, also carries a full line of 
materials. 

Dramatics and dramatic production in all its 
elements and aspects, must receive more and wiser 



DETAILS OF COACHING 107 

consideration. This consideration must come 
from educators in executive positions in our 
higher institutions, first and from teachers, par- 
ents, "coaches,' ' dramatic directors, and from all 
those who are interested enough to wish to take 
part in any production. Only thus, can the con- 
ditions which confront us in this country, in our 
theatrical bill of fare, ever be bettered. In all 
the "new movement" there is need for an audience 
capable of appreciating some of the attempts 
which are being made to better this situation. 
How is this audience to be trained, in any degree, 
if educational institutions continue their present 
attitude of indifference toward the matter of dra- 
matic production? 



CHAPTER VIII 

MATERIAL FOR PRODUCTION 

No one can do more than offer the most general 
suggestions upon the choice of a play, as every 
selection brings its own individual problems and 
complications. I suggest that one should consult 
chapter one of "How To Produce Amateur 
Plays," by Barret H. Clark, Little, Brown and 
Co., Boston, publishers, and chapter two of 
"Practical Stage Directing For Amateurs," by 
Emerson Taylor, E. P. Dutton and Co., New 
York, publishers. These references give advice 
which is invaluable. 

Mr. Clark says on page five of chapter one, that 
it is much more meritorious to produce a good 
play poorly, if need be, than a poor play well. 
With this statement I would certainly take issue. 
I should say it depends. My experience for a 
good many years leads me to think that the state- 

108 



MATERIAL FOR PRODUCTION 109 

ment will bear discussion. Theoretically it may 
be true, but there are so many elements which 
enter into the case, that such a statement should 
not be made without qualification and considera- 
tion. Such consideration, I leave to those into 
whose hands this book may fall. 

Good articles on the choice of a play will be 
found in the "Quarterly Journal of Speech Edu- 
cation" for October, 1915, and April, 1916. The 
"Journal" is published by the George Banta Pub- 
lishing Co., Menasha, Wis. Single copies are 
sixty cents. Other good articles appeared in the 
"English Journal" for December, 1917, and Feb- 
ruary, 1918. The "Journal" is published by the 
University of Chicago Press, and single copies 
cost thirty cents. Also in "The Drama," Febru- 
ary, 1920, published by The Drama League of 
America, 59 E. Van Buren St., Chicago. 

After what has been said it would seem need- 
less to further urge, that, though the choice of 
play is sure to be a difficult matter, the person to 
whom this task falls should use his or her best 
effort to make that choice measure up to the very 
highest standard of which the circumstances will 



110 CHOOSING A PLAY 

permit. The raising of the standard of dramatic 
production, from an educational standpoint, as 
well as the betterment of taste in this direction, 
are worthy ends for any teacher to work toward. 

A few of the more obvious considerations which 
should enter into the choosing of a play are here 
given. 

I. Who is producing. Age, training and abil- 
ity of the group. 

II. Natiwe of the audience. General ; selected ; 
young or old; cultured or otherwise. 

III. Ends desired. Dramatic training; liter- 
ary; entertainment (pleasure only) ; money (for 
the class treasury to pay a debt, for a benefit, 
etc. ) . Too often the sure and easy way to make 
money is the play. It is not difficult to see how 
taste in selection will be affected when so definite 
a monetary situation is involved. This situation 
begins with the smallest High School production, 
and ends with the Broadway enterprises. This 
and the utterly impossible producing facilities, 
are among the chief elements hindering the better- 
ment of dramatics. 

IV. Producing considerations. Place of pro- 



MATERIAL FOR PRODUCTION 111 

duction; its size, size and equipment of stage, as 
to lighting, scenery, etc. 

Some of the elements which might be consid- 
ered as constituting a good play are listed as 
follows. (Again let it be borne in mind that I 
have in view largely, in all my suggestions, the 
groups of untrained amateurs who will work for 
the most part under more or less untrained direc- 
tion. There are many clubs in the larger schools 
and colleges, which have been under excellent 
training and direction, and which are capable of 
a very high type of amateur work. As I have 
before remarked, it is to these groups and their 
directors, it seems to me, that most articles and 
books on these subjects are addressed.) 

I. The situations should be free from unduly 
emotional conditions. Such situations when in- 
troduced should be within the comprehension, if 
not the experience, of the young people who are 
to enact the parts. 

II. Royalty. A large royalty cannot usually 
be paid. Unfortunately play brokers who 
handle by far the largest amount, and the best 
of the available material, seem not at all inter- 



112 CHOOSING A PLAY 

ested to assist amateurs by allowing them a special 
price. Twenty-five dollars is about the best that 
may be hoped for on plays in manuscript form, 
the only form of material handled by the brokers. 
This at once debars from use many desirable as 
well as possible things, the presentation of which 
could in no way injure the rentals or productions 
of the play by road or stock companies. 

I have been asked to be more explicit in this 
matter of royalty, but there is little further to be 
said. The conditions met are most baffling. 
Often, in my own experience I have found two 
firms offering the same play on their lists, one 
allowing me the use of the play for $25. where 
the other called for $40. for the same use. Also, 
there are printed plays which state on the open- 
ing pages a royalty of $10. the same play listed 
on the broker's lists at $25. These prices are 
for one performance always. I cannot explain 
these discrepancies nor have I found any one who 
can. I could cite many more similar instances 
and the situation is well known to all who have 
had much to do with amateur producing. Lists 
should always be compared and the printed copy 



MATERIAL FOR PRODUCTION 113 

used whenever available. If it is possible to 
address the author, do so. A payment for the 
use of an author's work is only just and fair, but 
one would like to feel that there is a definite ar- 
rangement by which the author gets the same 
amount from all the various collections of the 
firms offering his play for use. 

I have also been asked to indicate which plays 
are available in manuscript only. This I cannot 
well do, as new plays are constantly being added 
to the printed lists from the manuscript list and 
any statement I might make would be true only 
for a short time at most. So far as possible I 
have given the publisher handling the play in 
printed form whenever it is so available. Bar- 
rie's plays, for instance, which have so long been 
available only in manuscript form, have now ap- 
peared in book form, and so with others. Any 
one who has the choosing of a play to do, must 
expect to expend some time in the matter, and 
part of it should be in scanning several lists care- 
fully to see if it appears on more than one, and 
then writing to see what arrangements can be 
made with the various firms. 



114 CHOOSING A PLAY 

III. The play must have dramatic movement, 
or, be actable, not too "talky." Amateurs as a 
whole get very good results in plays with con- 
siderable characterization. The play should be 
as well worth while as possible in action, charac- 
terization and theme. 

IV. All questionable situations should be 
avoided. Study all that enters into the situation 
before you decide it is questionable. So much of 
the present-day drama has to do with sex situa- 
tions, or the eternal triangle, many plays have to 
be discarded at once. Principals and town's 
people often raise questions which seem (and are) 
unnecessary to the much harassed coach, who is 
led to wish that these people would do not only 
the choosing of the play, but also the entire coach- 
ing. The questions arising concerning morals of 
a play will be affected by the producing environ- 
ment of each individual hamlet, and must be 
solved by the parties concerned. Too much at- 
tention is often paid to "what the public will 
like" to the detriment of the choice of a play 
and this should not be tolerated. The whole 
standard of choice will be forever lowered if this 



MATERIAL FOR PRODUCTION 115 

policy is to be followed. A trained person in 
charge of dramatics, well enough trained to be 
engaged like any other responsible instructor, 
should be the one who will best know what to 
produce. 

V. An author of ability and some literary 
value is desirable. 

VI. // historic plays, or plays of a period are 
given, as much accuracy as possible in settings 
and costume should be observed. On the whole 
this type of play requires a coach who knows 
what he is about, to achieve very admirable re- 
sults. 

VII. A balance in the acting values should 
be considered. Frequently, of course, students 
of marked ability appear and a play with a lead- 
ing part is desirable. As a principle, a balance 
in the parts is better. It is true again, that the 
proportion of plays is built about a leading char- 
acter, so it is not easy to avoid this situation. 
However, students should be given as even a 
chance as possible. 



PART TWO 

directory: 



SECTION I 

ADDRESSES OF PLAY PUBLISHERS AND BROKERS 

As I stated in the preface, it has not been my 
purpose to do more than touch briefly upon the 
preceding details. To the trained director, the 
lists and bibliography which follow will be largely 
familiar. But let it be sadly remembered that a 
director, or "coach," with training, real prepara- 
tion to do work in dramatics, is the great excep- 
tion. To many, then, the following lists will be 
of assistance. The calls received every year in 
my department alone warrant this assertion. Is 
it too much to hope that some who have not been 
heretofore sufficiently impressed with the impor- 
tance of the administering of dramatics in an 
educational manner, may be interested to read at 
least a portion of the literature available? May 
we not hope further, that any one who may have 

119 



120 CHOOSING A PLAY 

"coaching" to do will find it practical to avail 
himself of as many of the reference books as 
possible? 

Directors and coaches should also avail them- 
selves of all possible material in the way of cata- 
logues and lists sent free, or at small cost. They 
furnish a great deal of valuable assistance. Most 
of the following companies will send their com- 
plete catalogues for the asking. The Drama 
League, Boston, charges twenty-five cents, and 
has a list well worth it. Sanger and Jordan and 
the American Play Co. have very fine catalogues 
listing plays with casts complete. There is a 
small charge for these catalogues, one dollar or 
so, but they are of the greatest assistance. 

Dramatic Publishing Co., 542 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, 111. 

Samuel French & Co., 28 W. 38th St., New York City. 

Eldridge Entertainment House, Franklin, Ohio, and Den- 
ver, Colo. 

Dick & Fitzgerald, 10 Ann St., New York City. 

Walter H. Baker Pub. Co., 5 Hamilton Place, Boston, Mass. 

Penn Publishing Co., 923 Arch St., Philadelphia, Pa. 

Boston Drama League, 101 Tremont St., Room 705, Boston, 
Mass., R. J. Davis, Secretary. 

Drama League of America, 737 Marquette Bldg., Chicago, 
111. 



PUBLISHERS AND BROKERS 121 

From the following firms plays are obtainable 
in manuscript form only, largely plays calling for 
a royalty of at least $25., often $40. and $50. : 

Alice Kauser, 1432 Broadway, New York City. 

♦Sanger and Jordan, Times Bldg., 17th Floor, New York 
City. 

Rumsey Play Co., 152 W. 46th St., New York City. 

■American Play Co., 451 Broadway, New York City. 

Shubert Theater Co., 1416 Broadway, New York City. 

Agency for Unpublished Plays, 41 Concord Ave., Cam- 
bridge, Mass. (Small royalties.) 

Publishers carrying a special line of plays in 
bound form: 

Brentano, Fifth Ave. & 27th St., New York City. 
The Sunwise Turn, 51 E. 44th St., New York City. 
Washington Sq. Book Shop, 17 W. 8th St., New York City. 
.John W. Luce & Co., 212 Summer St., Boston, Mass. 
Lawrence Gomme, 2 E. 29th St., New York City. 
Drama League, 7 E. 42nd St., New York City. 
Mitchell Kennedy, 32 W. 58th St., New York City. 
Little, Brown & Co., Boston, Mass. 

Miscellaneous. In every large city there will 
be found a good costuming house. Suggestions 
upon these will meet only a limited number, as I 
am not acquainted with the many sections of the 
country. A few addresses are given below: 



122 CHOOSING A PLAY 

Fritz Sclioutz & Co., 58 W. Lake St., Chicago, 111. (and 

Detroit). 
Chicago Costume Co., 143 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, 111. 
Carnival Costume Co., Milwaukee, Wis. 
M. J. Clark Costume Co., St. Louis, Mo. 
Van Horn Costume Co., 10 S. 10th St., Philadelphia, Pa. 
Geo. Beck Costume Co., Cincinnati, O. 
Winona Costume Co., Minneapolis, Minn, (and Winona). 

The following firms furnish scenery and similar 
firms in many of the larger cities will be able to 
furnish settings : 

R. MacDonald, Scenic Studio, Bush Temple Theater, 800 
N. Clark St., Chicago, 111. 

Guthman Scenic Studios, 1324 Loomis Place, Chicago, 111. 

Peltz & Carson Scenic Studios, 1507 N. Clark St., Chicago, 
111. 

Stage & Studio Lighting Apparatus, Universal Stage Light- 
ing Co., 240 W. 50th St., New York City. 



SECTION II 

LIST OF PLAYS 
ARRANGED IN FOUR GRADES 

The following lists, it will be understood, are 
in no sense complete. They serve to give a body 
of material, arranged in four grades, that may 
save many hours of search for a play. The most 
difficult plays are listed in grade one. Nearly all 
the plays in this group carry a royalty of $25.00, 
$40.00, or $50.00. In few cases could they be 
obtained for less than the first named sum, though 
the author knows some instances where smaller 
royalty has been accepted. For the reason of 
royalty, therefore, these plays are put in grade 
one as being difficult of obtaining. They are 
also, for the most part, more difficult in theme, 
characterization and settings. They are suitable 
for the better trained clubs which will produce 
under trained direction. Detailed descriptions 



124 CHOOSING A PLAY 

of these, and all plays mentioned, will be found 
in the catalogues of the various publishers or 
brokers, already given. The abbreviations which 
have been used are explained below: 

A. P. Co American Play Co. 

S. & J Sanger and Jordan. 

Dr. P. Co Dramatic Publishing Co. 

E. E. Hs Eldridge Entertainment House. 

Bk Walter H. Baker and Co. 

Fr Samuel French and Co. 

D. & F Dick and Fitzgerald. 

Sh Shubert Co. 

P. P Penn Pub. Co. 

The order of arrangement has been, title, 
author, number of acts, number of interior and 
exterior sets, publisher, number of male and fe- 
male characters. 

Grade I 

Admirable Crichton, The, Barrie, 4 a., 3 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 

6 m., 6 w. 
All of a Sudden Peggy, Denny, 3 a., 2 in., Fr. 5 m., 5 w. 
Amazons, The, Pinero, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., Bk., 7 m., 5 w. 
American Citizen, An, Ryley, 4 a., 3 ., 1 ex., Fr., 9 m., 5 w. 
Arms and the Man, Shaw, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., A. P. Co., 4 m., 

3 w. 
As the Leaves, Giacosa, 3 a., 3 in., A. P. Co., 5 m., 6 w. 
Alice-Sit-By-the-Fire, Barrie, 3 a., 2 in., 3 m., 6 w. 
Androcles and the Lion, Shaw, 3 a. (short) 1 in., 2 ex., Bren- 

tano, 10 m., 5 w. 



LIST OF PLAYS 125 

Bachelor's Romance, A, Morton, 4 a., 3 in., Fr., 5 m., 4 w. 
Beau Brummel, Fitch, 4 a., 3 in., 1 ex., Fr., 11 m., 7 w. 
Big Idea, The, Thomas, 3 a., 2 in., S. & J., 7 m., 4 w. 
Barbara Freitchie, Fitch, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Fr., 13 m., 6 w. 
Believe Me Xantippe, Ballard, 4 a., 2 in., 8 m., 2 w. 
Be Calm Camilla, Kummer, 2 a., 4 sc, 3 in., A. P. Co., 6 m., 

3 w. 

Bernice, Glaspell, 3 a. (short) 1 in., 2 m., 8 w., Theater 

Arts Mag., Oct. '19. 
Candida, Shaw, 3 a., 1 in., Brentano, 4 m., 2 w. 
Case of Rebellious Susan, The, Jones, 3 a., 3 in., Fr., 10 m., 

4 w. 

Caught in the Rain, Collier, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 12 m., 

11 w. 

Climbers, The, Fitch, 4 a., 3 in., Fr., 12 m., 9 w. 

College Widow, The, Ade, 4 a., 1 in., 3 ex., S. & J., 15 m., 

10 w. 
Cassilis Engagement, The, Hankin, 4 a., 3 in., 1 ex., Fr., 7 

m., 7 w. 
Captain Kidd Jr., Young, 3 a., 1 in., 2 ex., A. P. Co., 7 m., 

3 w. 
Cheating Cheaters, Marcin, 4 a., 3 in., S. & J., 9 m., 4 w. 
Disraeli, Parker, 4 a., 4 in., S. & J., 13 m., 6 w. 
Deirdre of The Sorrows, Synge, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., Luce, 

8 m., 3 w. 
Fanny's First Play, Shaw, 3 a., 2 in., Brentano, 5 m., 3 w. 
First Lady of the Land, Nirdlinger, 4 a., 3 in., Bk., 11 

m., 8 w. 
Flower Shop, The, Wentworth, 3 a., 1 in., Badger, 5 m., 5 w. 
Gypsy Trail, The, Housum, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., A. P. Co., 5 

m., 4 w. 
Genius, The, DeMille, 3 a., 3 in., S. & J., 7 m., 5 w. 
Girl With the Green Eyes, The, Fitch, 4 a., 3 in., Fr., 6 m., 

12 w. 



126 CHOOSING A PLAY 

Going Some, Armstrong, 4 a., 1 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 12 m., 

p 4 w. 
Green Stockings, Mason, 3 a., 2 in., Fr., 7 m., 5 w. 
Harlequinade, The, Barker, 4 a., 2 in., 2 ex., Brentano, 

11 m., 2 w. 
Her Husband's Wife, Thomas, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 3 m., 3 w. 
Her Own Way, Fitch, 4 a., 3 in., Fr., 6 m., 6 w. 
Honeymoon, The, Bennett, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Doran Co., 

6 m., 2 w. 

Hypocrites, The, Jones, 4 a., 3 in., A. P. Co., 8 m., 6w. 
Importance of Being Earnest, The, Wilde, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., 

Fr., 5 m., 4 w. 
Inconstant George, DeFleurs, 3 a., 3 in., S. & J., 7 m., 

7 w. 

It Pays to Advertise, Megrue, 3 a., 2 in., A. P. Co., 6 m., 

4 w. 

Jack Straw, Maugham, 3 a., 2 in., Dr. P. Co., 8 m., 5 w. 
Janice Meredith, Ford, 4 a., 3 in., 1 ex., A. P. Co., 12 m., 

5 w. 

Just Out of College, Ade, 3 a., 5 in., S. & J., 14 m., 12 w. 
Jesters, The, Zamacois, 4 a., 2 in., 2 ex., Brentano, 12 m., 

2 w. 
Kindling, Kenyon, 3 a., 1 in., A. P. Co., 6 m., 6 w. 
Lady From Oklahoma, The, Jordan, 3 a., 3 in., A. P. Co., 

6 m., 10 w. 

Lady Windermere's Fan, Wilde, 4 a., 3 in., A. P. Co., 7 m., 

9 w. 
Liars, The, Jones, 4 a., 3 in., 1 ex., A. P. Co., 6 m., 6 w. 
Little Minister, The, Barrie, 4 a., 2 in., 2 ex., S. & J., 

11 m., 5 w. 
Little Women, DeForrest, 4 a., 1 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 4 m., 

6 w. 
Little Grey Lady, The, Pollock, 4 a., 2 in., 2 ex., Fr., 6 m., 

5 w. 



LIST OF PLAYS 127 

Lottery Man, The, R. J. Young, 3 a., 3 in., S. & J., 4 m., 

5 w. 

Little Journey, A, Crothers, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 9 m., 

6 w. 

Marriage of Kitty, The, Lenox, 3 a., 2 in., Fr., 3 m., 3 w. 
Magda, Suderman, 4 a., 1 in., Fr., 4 m., 7 w. 
Magistrate, The, Pinero, 3 a., 3 in., Bk., 12 m., 4 w. 
Man From Home, The, Tarkington, 4 a., 2 in., 1 ex., S. & 

J., 11 m.. 3 w. 
Man's World, A, Crothers, 4 a., 2 in., Badger, 7 m., 1 w. 
Manoeuvres of Jane, The, Jones, 4 a., 4 in., Fr., 9 m., 11 w. 
Mary Jane's Pa, Ellis, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 13 m., 4 w. 
Mater, Mackaye, 3 a., 2 in., Macmillan, 3 m., 2 w. 
Merely Mary Ann, Zangwill, 4 a., 3 in., S. & J., 7 m., 

10 w. 
Mice and Men, Ryley, 4 a., 3 in., 1 ex., Fr., 7 m., 5 w. 
Mrs. Dot, Maugham, 3 a., 2 in., S. & J., 7 m., 5 w. 
My Lady's Dress, Knoblauch, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Doubleday, 

Page, 9 m., 12 w. 
My Wife, Morton, 4 a., 1 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 12 m., 6 w. 
Mob, The, Galsworthy, 4 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Brentano, 15 m., 

6 w. 
Nathan Hale, Fitch, 4 a., 2 in., 2 ex., Bk., 15 m., 4 w. 
New Lady Bantock, The, or Fanny and the Servant Prob- 
lem, Jerome, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 5 m., 6 w. 
New York Idea, The, Mitchell, 4 a., 3 in., Bk., 9 m., 5 w. 
Night Out, A. Robson, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., S. & G., 6 m., 5 w. 
Only Way, The Willis, 4 a., 2 in., 2 ex., A. P. Co., 22 m., 

4 w. 
Passing of the Third Floor Back, The, Jerome, 3 a., 1 in., 

Fr., 6 m., 6 w. 
Piper, The, Peabody, 4 a., 2 in., 2 ex., Houghton Mifflin, 

1"8 m., 6 w., 5 children. 
Pair of Sixes, A, Peple, 3 a., 2 in., Fr., 3 m., 4 w. 



128 CHOOSING A PLAY 

Pomander Walk, Parker, 4 a., 2 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 10 m., 

7 w. 
Pretty Sister of Jose, The, Burnett, 4 a., 4 ex., A. P. Co., 

10 m., 5 w. 
Professor's Love Story, The, Barrie, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., 

S. & J., 7 m., 5 w. 
Prunella, Hausman, 3 a., 1 ex., Dr. P. Co., 11 m., 7 w. 
Peg O' My Heart, Manners, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 5 m., 4 w. 
Pigeon, The, Galsworthy, 3 a., 1 in., 8 m., 2 w., Scribner. 
Quality Street, Barrie, 4 a., 3 in., S. & J., 9 m., 10 w. 
Road To Yesterday, The, Dix, 4 a., 3 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 

7 m., 6 w. 
Rose of the Rancho, The, Belasco, 4 a., 2 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 

6 m., 4 w. 
Rosemary, Parker, 4 a., 1 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 6 m., 4 w. 
Return of the Prodigal, The, Hankin, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., 

Fr., 7 m., 5 w. 
Scarecrow, The, Mackaye, 4 a., 2 in., S. & J., 9 m., 6 w. 
Schoolmistress, The, Pinero, 3 a., 3 in., Bk., 9 m., 7 w. 
Servant In The House, The, Kenedy, 5 a., 1 in., S. & J., 

5 m., 2 w. 
Shoemaker's Holiday, The, Dekker, Scribner, 17 m., 4 w. 
Smith, Maugham, 4 a., 2 in., Dr. P. Co., 4 m., 4 w. 
Strongheart, DeMille, 4 a., 3 in., Fr., 17 m., 5 w. 
Stubbornness of Geraldine, The, Jones, 4 a., 3 in., 1 ex., 

Fr., 10 m., 12 w. 
Sweet Nell of Old Drury, Kester, 4 a., 4 in., S. & J., 

14 m., 4 w. 
Successful Calamity, A, Kummer, 2 a., 4 sc, 2 in., A. P. 

Co., 8 m., 4 w. 
Talker, The, Fairfax, 3 a., 1 in., S. & J., 4 m., 5 w. 
Thompson, Hankin, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 5 m., 5 w. 
Thousand Years Ago, A, MacKaye, 4 a., 5 in., 1 ex., Fr., 

9 m., 2 w. 



LIST OF PLAYS 129 

Tom Pinch, Dickens, 3 or 5 a., 4 in., 1 ex., Bk., 15 m., 

6 w. 
Trelawney of The Wells, Pinero, 4 a., 3 in., Dr. P. Co., 

14 m., 9 w. 
Two Mr. Wetherbys, The, Hankin, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 3 m., 

4 w. 
Tyranny of Tears, The, Chambers, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., Bk., 

4 m., 3 w. 
We Are Seven, Gates, 3 a., 3 in., A. P. Co., 15 m., 4 w. 
When Bunty Pulls The Strings, Moffet, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., 

S. & J., 5 m., 5 w. 
Whitewashing Julia, Jones, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., A. P. Co., 

6 m., 10 w. 

What Every Woman Knows, Barrie, 4 a., 3 in., 1 ex., A. 

P. Co., 10 m., 3 w. 
You Never Can Tell, Shaw, 4 a., 3 in., 1 ex., Brentano, 

7 m., 5 w. 

Younger Generation, The, Houghton, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 7 m., 
4 w. 

Grade II 

At Cosy Corners, Short, 4 a., 2 in., 1 ex., A. P. Co., 5 m., 

4 w. 

At Yale, Davis, 3 a., 1 in., 3 ex., Fr., 16 m., 4 w. 

All The Comforts Of Home, Gilette, 4 a., 1 in., D. & F., 6 

or 10 m., 4 or 7 w. 
Anne Of Old Salem, Batchelder, 3 a., 2 in., Dr. P. Co., 

5 m., 8 w. 

Bar Haven, May, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Bk., 6 m., 5 w. 
Beaucaire, Freeman, 3 a., 3 in., 1 ex., Bk., 14 m., 7 w. 
Brown Of Harvard, Young, 4 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Fr., 20 m., 

4 w. 
Charley's Aunt, Thomas, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Fr., 6 m., 4 w. 



130 CHOOSING A PLAY 

Chinese Lantern, The, Hausman, 2 a., 1 in.. Dr. P. Co., 

9 m., 2 w. 
College Politician, A, Weis, 3 a., Bk., 16 ra., 5 w. 
Contrary Mary, Ellis, 3 a., 2 in., Fr., 7 m., 5 w. 
County Chairman, The, Ade, 4 a., 4 in., S. & J., 16 m., 5 w. 
Cousin Kate, Davies, 3 a., 2 in., Bk., 3 m., 4 w. 
District Attorney, The, Wilkens, 3 a., 2 in., Bk., 10 m., 6 w. 
Esmeralda, Burnett, 3 a., Fr., 6 m., 5 w. 
Facing The Music, Darnley, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 5 m., 4 w. 
Her Own Monejr, Swan, 3 a., 1 in., 2 ex., Fr., 3 m., 4 w. 
Hurry, Hurry, Hurry, Arnold, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 5 m., 4 w. 
In Good Old Colony Times, Sayward, 3 a., 2 in., Fr., 9 m., 

4 w. 
In The Vanguard, Trask, 3 a., 1 in., 2 ex., Macmillan, 6 or 

12 m., 5 or 10 w. 
Ingomar, Lovell, 5 a., Dr. P. Co., 14 m., 5 w. (Greek) 
Let 's Get Married, Beach, 3 a., 1 in., Bk., 3 m., 5 w. 
Little Miss Cummin, Pryce, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 4 m., 6 w. 
My Friend From India, Souchet, 3 a., 2 in., Fr., 7 m., 5 w. 
Mrs. Gorringe's Necklace, Davies, 4 a., 1 in., Bk., 6 m., 

4 w. 
Mrs. Temple's Telegram, Wyatt, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 5 m., 4 w. 
Miss Somebody Else, Short, 4 a., 1 in., Fr., 4 m., 10 w. 
Man Who Married A Dumb Wife, The, France, 2 a., 1 in., 

Luce, 13 m., 4 w. 
Nest Egg, The, Caldwell, 3 a., 3 in., S. & J., 5 m., 5 w. 
New Boy, The, Law, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 4 m., 3 w. 
Other Fellow, The, Home. 3 a., 2 in., Bk., 6 m., 4 w. 
Our Wives, Krafft, 3 a., 2 in., S. & J., 7 m., 4 w. 
Pair of Spectacles, A, Grundy, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 8 m., 3 w. 
Pioneers, The, Oppenheim, 3 a., 1 ex., Huebsch. 5 m., 5 w. 
Private Secretary, The, Hawtrey, 3 a., 2 in., Fr., 9 m., 4 w. 
Quest For Happiness, The, Davis, 3 a., Fr., 12 m., 17 w. 

(Morality) 



LIST OF PLAYS 131 

Rivals, The, Sheridan. 5 a., 2 in., 2 ex., Dr. P. Co., 8 m., 

4 w. 
Romancers, The, Rostand, 3 a., Bk., 5 m., 1 w. 
Rose O' Plymouth Town, A, Dix & Sutherland, 3 a., 2 in., 

Dr., P. Co., 4 m., 4 w. 
Russian Honeymoon, A, Harrison, 3 a., 2 in., Dr. P. Co., 

4 m., 3 w. 
School For Scandal, The, Sheridan, 5 a., Bk., 12 m., 4 w. 
She Stoops To Conquer, Goldsmith, 5 a., Fr., 17 m., 4 w. 
Superior Miss Pellander, The, Bowkett, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., 
Fr., 2 m., 4 w. 

Sweet Lavender, Pinero, 3 a., 1 in., Bk., 7 m., 4 w. 
We Three, Crothers, 4 a., 1 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 7 m., 3 w. 
What Happened To Jones, Broadhurst, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 

7 m., 6 w. 

Why Smith Left Home, Broadhurst, % a., 3 in., Fr., 5 m., 

7w. 
Worsted Man, The, Bangs (Partly Musical), 1 m., 12 w., 

or all women. 

Grade III 

Aaron Boggs Freshman, Hare, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., Dennison, 

8 m., 8 w. 

Arrival Of Kitty, The, Swartout, 3 a., 1 in., Bk., 5 m., 

4 w. 

Bachelor Hall, Baker, 3 a., 1 in., Bk., 8 m., 4 w. 

Bess Goes To Europe, Woodman, 3 a., 4 in., E. E. Hs., 

5 m., 6 w. 

Between The Acts, Griffiths, 3 a., 1 in., Shoemaker, 4 m., 

3 w. 
Colonel's Maid, The, Dalrymple, 3 a., 2 in., Bk., 6 m., 3 w. 
Commencement Days, Mayo, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Fr., 6 m., 

9 w. 



132 CHOOSING A PLAY 

Comrades, Baker, 3 a., 1 in., Bk., 4 m., 3 w. 

Cricket On The Hearth, The, Smith, 3 a., 3 in., E. E. Hs., 

6 m., 7 w. 
Cupid At Vassar, Davis, 4 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Fr., 4 m., 9 w. 
Daddy, Smith, 3 a., 2 in., Bk., 4 m., 4 w. 
Elopement Of Ellen, The, Warren, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., Bk., 

4 m., 3 w. 
End Of The Rainbow, The, Barbee, 3 a., 3 in., Dennison, 

6 m., 14 w. 

Engaged By Wednesday, Owen, 3 a., 1 ex., Bk., 5 m., 11 w. 

Fifteenth Of January, The, Barbee, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., Den- 
nison, 11 m., 10 w. 

Galliger, Woodman, 3 a., 4 in., E. E. Hs., 4 m., 8 w. 

Highby Of Harvard, Townsend, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Bk., 5 
m., 4 w. 

His Excellency The Governor, Marshall, 3 a., 1 in., Bk., 
10 m., 3 w. 

Katy Did, Bridgham, 2 a., Bk., 4 m., 8 w. 

Love And Tea, See, 2 a., 1 in., Bk., 2 m., 6 w. 

Mishaps Of Minerva, The, Porter, 2 a., 1 in., Bk., 5 m., 
8 w. 

Miss Hobbs, Jerome, 4 a., 2 in., Fr., 5 m., 4 w. 

Miss Molly, Gale, 2 a., 1 in., Fr., 3 m., 5 w. 

Mr. Bob, Baker, 2 a., 1 in., Bk., 3 m., 4 w. 

Mrs. Compton's Manager, Osgood, 3 a., 2 in., Bk., 4 m., 

7 w. 

One Of The Eight, Swartout, 4 a., 2 in., Bk., 10 m., 4 w. 
Professor, The, Wloodman, 3 a., Flanagan & Co., 5 m., 

8 w. 

Revenge Of Shari Hot Su, The, Batchelder, 3 a., 1 in., 1 

ex., Bk., 3 m., 4 w. 
Scrap Of Paper, A, Simpson, 3 a., Bk., 6 m., 6 w. 
Sentimental Sarahs, The, Hale, 3 a., 1 in., Bk., 5 m., 5 w. 
Strenuous Life, A, Tully, 3 a., Bk., 9 m., 5 w. 



LIST OF PLAYS 133 

Sweet Girl Graduates, The, Woodman, 3 a., E. E. Hs., 

7 m., 4 w. 
Sleeping Beauty, The, Du Bois, 3 a., 2 in., 4 m., 6 w., Fr. 
Team Work, Gallupe, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., Bk., 10 m., 5 w. 
Tommy's Wife, Warren, 3 a., 2 in., E. E. Hs., 3 m., 5 w. 
Two Strings To Her Bow, Harrison, 2 a., 1 in., 1 ex., Dr. 

P. Co., 4 m., 2 w. 
Varsity Coach, The, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., Fr., 6 m., 6 w. 

Grade IV 

All A Mistake, Parker, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., E. E. Hs., 4 m., 

4 w. 
Billy's Bungalow,Crane, 3 a., 1 in., Dick & Fitz, 5 m., 

4 w. 
Blundering Billy, Wills, 3 a., 1 in., Dr. P. Co., 4 m., 3 w. 
Box Of Monkeys, A, Furniss, 2 a., 1 in., Dr. P. Co., 2 

m., 3 w. 
Brother Josiah, Parker, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., Flanagan, 7 m., 

4 w. 
Cheerful Liar, A, Fraser, 3 a., 3 in., Dr. P. Co., 5 m., 3 w. 
Clover Farm, Patten, 3 a., Bk., 8 m., 3 w. (Easy). 
College Chums, Wills, 3 a., 1 in., Flanagan, 9 m., 3 w. 
Dream That Came True, The, Barbee, 3 a., 3 in., E. E. 

Hs., 6 m., 13 w. 
Every Graduate, Blum, 3 a., 2 in., Fr., 10 m., 8 w. 
Freshman, The, Morris, 3 a., 1 in., 2 ex., Shoemaker, 7 m., 

4 w. 
Great Catastrophe, The, Locke, 2 a., 1 in., Shoemaker, 

4 m., 3 w. 
Half Back Sandy, Swartout, 3 a., 1 in., 2 ex., Bk., 17 m., 

2 w. 
Hicks At College, Dyar, 3 a., 3 in., Dr. P. Co., 12 m., 9 w. 
His Model Wife, Bagg, 1 a., 1 in., Shoemaker, 3 m., 7 w. 



134 CHOOSING A PLAY 

His Word Of Honor, Gott, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Bk., 10 m. 3 5 w. 
Home Ties, Tubbs, 4 a., 1 in., Shoemaker, 4 m., 5 w. 
Just For Fun, Crane, 3 a., 1 in., D. & F., 2 m., 4 w. 
Merchant Of Venice Up To Date, The, 4 a., 1 in., 3 ex., 

E. E. Hs., 9 m., 7 w. 
Mrs. Mainwaring's Management, Froome, 2 a., 1 in., Fr., 

3 m., 4 w. 
Mrs. Bagg's Bargain Day, 2 a., 2 in., 4 m., 9 w. 
Perplexing Situation, A, Smith, 2 a., 1 in., Shoemaker, 

5 m., 5 w. 
Phylis's Inheritance, Bernard, 5 a., 3 in., 1 ex., D. & F., 

6 m., 9 w. 
Toastmaster, The, Swartout, 3 a., 3 in., Dr. P. Co., 12 

m., 9 w. 
Tommy's Wife, Warren, 4 a., 1 in., Bk., 4 m., 5 w. 
Uncle, The, Byron, 3 a., 1 in., P. P. Co., 4 m., 4 w. 
Village Lawyer, The, Tubbs, 4 a., 2 in., Shoemaker, 6 m., 

5 w. 
What Became Of Parker, Hageman, 4 a., 2 in., Dr. P. Co., 

8 m., 4 w. 



SECTION III 

CHRISTMAS PLAYS 

Adam's Dream, Corbin, Alice Scribner, N. Y. 

Birds' Christmas Carol, The, Wiggin, Macmillan & Co. 

Bethlehem, Hausman, Macmillan & Co. 

Christmas Candles, Carter, Holt, N. Y. (A book of plays 

for Children) 
Christmas Chime, A, Cameron, Fr. 

Christmas Party, A, Merrington. (See Festival Plays) 
Christmas Once Again, Chapman. (See Neptune's Isle) 
Christmas Guest, A, MacKaye. (See House of the Heart) 
Christmas Tale, A, Boucher, Fr. 
Christmas Chimes, Hagar. (Adapted and dramatized from 

a story by an unknown author. "Popular Educator," 

Dec. 1911.) 
Dispensation, The Greene. (See Four Plays) 
Eager Heart, Buckton, Chappell & Co., N. Y. 
Evergreen Tree, The, MacKaye, Appleton, N. Y. 
Good King Wencelas, Rice, K. M., Worthington, Mass. 
Greatest Gift, The, Wells, "Ladies Home Journal," Dec. 

1913. 
Jean Noel, Gowe, Werner, N. Y. 

Lost Princess, The, Gutpill,, March & Co., Lebanon, O. 
Lost Prince, The, King Ithuriel, Hermits, Christmas in 

Leipsic, Chapman, Moffat Yard, N. Y. 
Little Town of Bethlehem, The, Trask. 
Masque of Christmas, A, MacKaye, Holt, N. Y. 

135 



136 CHOOSING A PLAY 

Nativity, The, Hyde. (In Poets and Dreamers, by Lady 

Gregory.) 
On Christmas Eve, MacKaye. (See House of the Heart) 
Star of Bethlehem, The Green. (See Four Plays) 
Shadowed Star, The, Macmillan. (See Short Plays) 
Tree Everlasting, The, Porter, Journal of Education, Bos- 
ton, Nov., Dec. 1913. 
Through Christmas Bells, Greene. (See Four Plays) 
Why The Chimes Rang, McFadden, Fr. 
White Christmas, The, Hare. Book containing 6 Xmas 

plays, published by T. S. Dennison Co., Chicago, 111. 

Plays are for both children and adults. 
Contents : 

The White Christmas. 

Anita's Secret. 

Christmas With the Mulligans. 

The Wishing Man. 

A Christmas Carol. (Arranged from Dickens' Christ- 
mas Carol) 

Her Christmas Hat. 



SECTION IV 

PLAYS REQUIRING ONLY WOMEN OR WITH ALL 
CHARACTERS POSSIBLE FOR WOMEN 

The following plays are in one-act form unless 
otherwise stated. Those marked with a star are 
of a better type. There is so much demand for 
plays of this sort and so little good material, it 
is hoped that the following list chosen from a large 
number may prove of assistance : 

At The Sign of the Silver Spoon, Finch, 4 ch., Smart Set. 

At Breezy Point, Locke, 13 ch., 3 a., Bk. 

An Outsider, 14 ch., Bk. 

An Open Secret, 10 ch., 2 a., Bk. 

Burglar, The, Cameron, 5 ch. (In Comedies in Miniature.) 

Boosting Bridget, Gale, 7 ch., Fr. 

* Behind A Watteau Picture, Rogers, 12 ch., Bk. 

* Between The Soup & The Savory, Jennings, 3 ch., Fr. 
Chinese Dummy, A, Campbell, 6 ch., Bk. 

* Clinging Vine, The, Gale, 13 ch., Bk. 

Dress Rehearsal, Macmillan, 10 ch. (In More Short 
Plays.) 

* Endymion, Warren, 10 ch., 3 a., Bk. 

* Flower of The Yeddo, Mapes, 4 ch., Fr. 
Fighting Chance, A, Shoemaker, 11 ch., 3 a., Bk. 

137 



138 CHOOSING A PLAY 

Her First Assignment. Bridgham, 10 ch., Bk. 

Hannah Gives Notice, 4 ch., F. 

In Mendelasia, Macmillan, 5 ch. (In More One Acts.) 

* Joint Owners in Spain, Alice Brown, 4 ch., Bk. 

* Lost Pleiad, The, Drasefield, 10 ch., Sunwise Turn Book 

Shop. 

* Love & Tea, A. P. See, 8 ch., Bk. 

Miss Fearless & Co., Locke, 10 ch., 3 a., Bk. 
Maidens All Forlorn, Simms, 7 ch., 3 a., Bk. 
Mrs. Oakley's Telephone, Jennings, 4 ch., 2 a., Fr. 

* Manners & Modes, Cooke, 9 ch. (In Dramatic Epi- 

sodes.) 
Man in The Case, The, Packard, 6 ch., 3 a., Bk. 
Mennemen Inn, West, 17 ch., 3 a., Fr. 

* Mothers of Men, Wilde, 2 ch. (In The Unseen Host.) 

* Martha's Mourning, Hoffman, 3 ch. (In Representative 

One-Act Plays, Little, Brown Co.) 

* Miss Tassey, Baker, 5 ch., Fr. 

New Crusade, The, Gale, 12 ch., 2 a., Bk. 
Old Peabody Pew, The, Wiggin, 9 ch., 2 a., Fr. 
Oxford Affair, The, Cobb, 8 ch., 3 a., Shoemaker. 
One On Dick, Bridgham, 6 ch., 3 a., Bk. 

* Pierrot of the Minute, The, Ernest Dawson, 2 ch., Bk. 
Piper's Pay, The, Cameron, 7 ch., Fr. 

Pledging of Polly, The, Lyon, 12 ch., 2 a., Bk. 

* Princess Kiku, The, Hutchinson, 9 ch., E. E. Hs. 
Rebellious Jane, Gale, 8 ch., 3 a., Bk. 

Reform, Cooke, 2 ch. (In Dramatic Episodes.) 

* Russian Honeymoon, A, Harrison, 6 ch., 3 a., Dr. P. Co. 

* Revolt, The, E. P. Butler, 8 ch., E. E. Hs. 
Sylvia's Aunts, Waldo, 8 ch., 2 a., Bk. 
Sunbonnets, Campbell, 1 1 ch., 2 a., Bk. 

* Six Cups of Chocolate, Matthews, 6 ch., Harper Pub. Co. 

* Stronger, The, Strindberg, 2 ch., Fr. 



REQUIRING ONLY WOMEN 139 

Three Chauffeurs, The, Chatterson, 17 ch., 2 a., Fr. 
Trouble At Satterlee's, The, Wilson, 7 ch., Shoemaker. 
Truth About Jane, The, Thompson, 7 ch., Bk. 
Three Girls From School, West, 14- ch., 2 a., Fr. 
Truth The Mischief, Thompson, 6 ch., Dr. P. Co. 

* Twig of Thorn, The, Warren, 13 ch., 2 a., Bk. 

* Turtle Dove, The, Alison, 7 ch. (In Six One Acts.) 

* Voices, Flexner, 2 ch. (In Representative One-Act 

Plays, Little Brown Co.) 

* Will O' The Wisp, 4 ch., Doris F. Holman. (In Repre- 

sentative One-Act Plays, Little Brown Co.) 



SECTION V 

ONE-ACT PLAYS IN PAMPHLET FORM 

Grade I 

This list contains much excellent material. 
The plays will cost in a few instances fifty or 
seventy-five cents, some but twenty-five cents. 
The number of characters ranges from three to 
ten, and the time from twenty minutes to one 
hour: 

Asaph, Bates, Drama, Mar. 1920. 

Another Way Out, Langer, Shay. 

Altruism, Glazer, Shay. 

At Slovsky's, Hawkridge, Harvard Workshop "47." 

At the Golden Goose, Lefevre, Fr. 

At The Shrine, Young, "Theater Arts Mag.," July, 1919. 

Bank Account, The, Brock. (In Plays of the Harvard 

Dr. Club, Brentano.) 
Bear, A, Tchekov, Fr. 
Behind A Watteau Picture, Rogers, Bk. 
Bishop's Candlesticks, The, McKinnell, Fr. 
Bird in Hand, Hausman, Fr. 
Birthday, The, Fulda, Fr. 
Bit of Love, A, Galsworthy, Fr. 

140 



PLAYS IN PAMPHLET FORM 141 

Columbine, Arkell, Fr, 

Cathleen Ni Hoolihan, Yeats, Brentano. 

Chenerys, The, Unger, Fr. 

Culprit, The, Weil, "Smart Set." 

Coming of Fair Annie, The, Price, Fr. 

Comedy and Tragedy, Gilbert, Fr. 

Christening Robe, The, Estabrook, Bk. 

Clod, The, Beach. (In W. Sq. Plays, Doubleday, Page.) 

Campbell of Kilmhor, Ferguson, Fr. 

Constant Lover, The, Rankin, "Smart Set." 

Close the Book, Glaspell, Shay. 

Dear Little Wife, A, Guldlunn, Fr. 

Dad, M. Parry, Fr. 

Dumb and the Blind, The, Chapin, Fr. 

Dryad and the Deacon, The, Bates, Drama, Mar., 1920. 

Death and the Fool, Von Hofmansthal, Badger. 

Dark Lady of The Sonnets, The, Shaw, Fr. 

Dust of the Road, Goodman, Stage Guild. 

Dumb Cake, The, Morrison & Pryce, Fr. 

Dreamy Kid, The, O'Neill, "Theater Arts Mag.," Jan., 

1920. 
Dregs, Spencer. (In Rep. One-Act Plays, Little Brown.) 
Enter the Hero, Helburn, Shay. 
Eight O'Clock, St. John Ervine, Fr. 
Florist Shop, The, Hawkridge, "Boston Transcript." 
Fourteen, Gerstenberg, Dr. Feb., 1920. 
Fifth Commandment, The, Bierstadt, "Drama," June, 1920. 
Green Coat, The, DeMusset, Fr. 
Great Look, The, Faydon, Fr. 
Green Cockatoo, The, Schnitzler, Fr. 
Game of Chess, Goodman, Shay. 
Hero of Santa Maria, The, Goodman, Shay. 
How He Lied to Her Husband, Shaw, — Brentano. 
How The Vote Was Won, Hamilton, Dr. P. Co. 
Hour Glass, The, Yeats, Brentano. 



142 CHOOSING A PLAY 

Hobson's Choice, Brighouse, Fr. 

Hattie, DePue. (In Rep. One-Act Plays, Little Brown.) 

Indian Summer, Meilhac, Fr. 

Interior, Maeterlinck, Fr. 

Introducing Nettie, Abe, "Boston Transcript." 

Jean Marie, Fleuriet, Fr. 

Little Heroes, Pinski, "Boston Transcript." 

Land of Heart's Desire, The, Yeats, Fr. 

Last Man In, The, Maxwell, Fr. 

Lonesome Like, Brighouse, Fr. 

Little Dream, The, Galsworthy, Fr. 

Lithuania, Brooke, "Boston Transcript." 

Little King, The, Bynner, Kennerly. 

Listening, Froome, "Poet Lore." 

Last Straw, The, Crocker. (In Rep. One- Act Plays, Little, 

Brown.) 
Marriages Are Made in Heaven, Price, Fr. 
Maker of Men, A. Sutro, Fr. 
Mr. Sampson, Lee, Fr. 
Miss Civilization, Davies, Fr. 
Miss Maria, Deland, Fr. 
Man of Destiny, The, Shaw, Brentano. 
Maker of Dreams, The, Downs, Fr. 
Maid of France, The, Brighouse, Fr. 
Man in the Street, Parker, Fr. 
Make Believe Rackstraw, Fr. 
Marriage Proposal, A, Tchekoff, Fr. 
Monkey's Paw, The, Parker, Fr. 
Moondown, Pub. Shay. 

Miracle of St. Anthony, The, Maeterlinck, Fr. 
Moonshine, Hopkins, "Theater Arts Magazine." 
Maker of Magic, A, MacKaye, "Delineator," 1918. 
No Smoking, Benavente, "Dramatic Quarterly." 
Open Gate, The, Chamber, Fr. 
'Op O' Me Thumb, Fenn & Pryce, Fr. 



PLAYS IN PAMPHLET FORM 143 

Pot O' Broth, A, Yeats, Brentano. 

Plots and Playwrights, Massey, Shay. 

Price, The, Bargate, Fr. 

Price of Coal, The, Brighouse, Fr. 
-Pretty Sabine Women, The, Andreyev, "Drama Magazine." 

Playgoers, Pinero, Fr. 

Phoenix, The, Irving, Fr. 

Q, Hawtrey, Fr. 

Quod Wrangle, The, Downs, Fr. 

Ruby Red, Stratton, Dr. Feb. 1920. 

Riders To The Sea, Synge, Brentano. 

Rushlight, O'Shea, "Drama Quarterly." 

Rector, The, Crothers, Fr. 

Ryland, Stevens and Yerdman, Stage Guild & in Rep. One- 
Act Plays, Little Brown. 

Road House in Arden, A, Moeller, Shay. 

Street Singer, The, Echegaray, "Drama Quarterly." 

Snow Man, The, Hausman, Fr. 

Scaring Off of Teddy Dawson, The, Brighouse, Fr. 

Suppressed Desires, Glaspell. (In Rep. One- Act Plays, 
Little Brown.) 

Silent Voice, The, Tadema, Scribners. 

Sintram of Skagerrak, Cowan. (In Rep. One-Act Plays, 
Little Brown.) 

Tinker's Wedding, The, Synge, Luce. 

Trifles, Glaspell, Shay. 

Tune of a Tune, A, Totheroh, Dr. Feb. 1920. 

Waterloo, Doyle, Fr. 

Wager, The, Giacosa, Fr. 

Why Cupid Came to Earl's Cote, Hamilton, Fr. 

Woman Intervenes, Manners, Fr. 

Wonder Hat, The, Hecht & Goodman. (In Rep. One- Act 
Plays, Little Brown.) 

Where But In America, Wolff. (In Rep. One-Act Plays, 
Little Brown.) 



1U CHOOSING A PLAY 

Grade II 

The following list contains few plays which 
will cost over twenty-five cents, many only fifteen. 
Characters from three to ten, the time from fif- 
teen to forty minutes : 

All For Sweet Charity, Mathews, Warner. 

America Passes By, Andrews, Bk. 

At Sixes and Sevens, Morton, D. & F. 

Back of The Ballot, Middleton, Fr. 

Barbara, Jerome, Bk. 

Bone of Contention, The, McConnell, Bk. 

Case of Suspension, A, Wilson, P. P. 

Changeling, The, Jacobs, Fr. 

Comus, Milton, Bk. 

Cinders, Tinsley, Fr. 

Close Call, A, Irwin, Bk. 

Cup of Tea, A, Dr. P. Co. 

Cinderelline, Kiper, Dr. P. Co. 

Dress Rehearsal, A, Carroll, P. P. 

Food, DeMille, Fr. 

Gringore, Shirley, Dr. P. Co. 

Gloves, Cannon, "Theater Arts Mag.," Apr., 1920. 

Happy Pair, A, Smith, Bk. 

Lend Me Five Shillings, Morton, Shoem. 

Little Co-ed, The, Osborn, Bk. 

Mouse Trap, The, Howells, Harper Bros. 

My Wife's Bonnet, Morton, Fr. 

Ninth Waltz, The, Carton, Fr. 

Obstinate Family, The, Fr. 

Owin' to Maggie, Trent, Bk. 

Quits, Brown, Bk. 



PLAYS IN PAMPHLET FORM 145 

Special Delivery, Henderson, Bk. 
Six to One, Mathews, Bk. 
St. Cecelia, Short, Fr. 
Sunset, Jerome, Fr. 
Silent System, The, Dreyfus, Bk. 
Successful Stratagem, A, Rice. 
Templeton Teapot, The, Strong, Bk. 
That Rascal Pat, Green, Bk. 
Winning of Fuji, The, Gray, Dr. P. Co. 
Wedding Dress, The, Rice. 



SECTION VI 

ONE-ACT PLAYS FOR MALE CHARACTERS 

There is very little material in the way of 
plays in two or three acts for all male characters. 
A list of plays of so much merit as these which 
follow should attract any who seek material for 
the work of men's clubs. These plays will be 
found, for the most part, in the books of one-act 
plays previously listed : 

Allison's Lad, Dix, 6 ch. (In "Allison's Lad.") 

Augustus In Search of A Father, 3 ch., Chapin, Fr. 

As Good as Gold, 7 ch. (Morality) Housman, Fr. 

Bit of Instruction, A, Sutherland, 2 ch. (In 'To' White 

Trash.") 
Bogie Man, The, Gregory, 2 ch. (In "New Comedies.") 
Bound East For Cardiff, O'Neill, 11 ch., Prov. Plays, 

Vol. 1. 
Brink of Silence, The, Galbraith, 4 ch. (In Rep. One-Act 

Plays, Little Brown.) 
Captain of the Gate, The, Dix, 6 ch. (In "Allison's Lad.") 
Dark of the Dawn, Dix, 4 ch. (In "Allison's Lad.") 
Funiculi, Funicula, Wellman, 3 ch. (In Rep. One-Act 

Plays, Little, Brown.) 
Game of Chess, A, Goodman, 4 ch., Shav. 

146 



FOR MALE CHARACTERS 147 

Gods of the Mountains, Dunsany, 11 ch. (In "Five 

Plays.") 
Glittering Gate, The, Dunsany, 2 ch. (In "Five Plays.") 
Gargoyle, The, Middleton, 3 ch. (In "Embers.") 
Ghost of Jerry Bundler, The, 7 ch., Fr. 
Hooligan, The, Gilbert, 4 ch., Scribner's. 
Hundredth Trick, The, Dix, 4 ch. (In "Allison's Lad.") 
Hunger, Pillot, 5 ch. (In Rep. One- Act Plays, Little 

Brown.) 
In the Ravine, P. Wilde, 2 ch. (In "The Unseen Host.") 
Introducing Nettie, Ade, 2 ch., "Boston Transcript." 
Medicine Show, The, Walker, 3 ch. (In "Portmanteau 

Plays.") 
Magnanimity, O'Brien, 6 ch. (In "Duty.") 
Moonshine, Hopkins, 2 ch., "Theater Arts Mag.," 1-19. 
Night At An Inn, A, Dunsany, 7 ch., Fr. 
Outcast, Strindberg, 2 ch. (In "Three Plays.") 
Pariah, Strindberg, 2 ch., Fr. 

Pawns, P. Wilde, 6 ch. (In "The Unseen Host.") 
Pixy, The, Mrs. Havelock Ellis, 3 ch. (In "Love In Dan- 
ger.") 
Rising of the Moon, The, Gregory, 4 ch. (In "Seven Short 

Plays.") 
Rehearsal, The, Baring, 7 ch. (In "Diminutive Dramas.") 
Snare and the Fowler, The, Dix, 3 ch. (In "Allison's 

Lad.") 
Traitor, The, P. Wilde, 7 ch. (In "Dawn.") 
Unseen Host, The, P. Wilde, 3 ch. (In "The Unseen 

Host.") 
Valkyrie, The, P. Wilde, 2 ch. (In "The Unseen Host.") 
Way Out, A, Frost, 2 ch., "Seven Arts Magazine." 
Weakest Link, The, Dix, 4 ch. (In "Allison's Lad.") 
Zone Police, The, R. H. Davis, 4 ch., Fr. 



SECTION VII 

BOOKS OF ONE-ACT PLAYS 

The volumes starred are, in the author's 
opinion, of greatest general value. 

Ancey, George. Four Plays for Free Theater. Stewart & 
Kidd. The Fossils, The Serenade, Dupe, Francoise' 
Luck. 

Andreyev, Leonid. Five Plays. Scribner. The Life of 
Man, Caternia ivanovna, The Sabine Women, The 
Black Masters, Professor Staretgin. 

Aldis, Mary. Plays for Small Stages. Duffield, N. Y. 
The Drama Class of Tankaha, Nevada, Extreme 
Unction, The Letter, Temperament. 

Barker, Granville. Three Short Plays. Little, Brown & 
Co. Rococo, Vote by Ballot, Farewell to the Theater. 

*Barrie, J. M. Echoes of War. Scribner. The Old Lady 
Shows Her Medals, The New Word, A Well Remem- 
bered Voice, Barbara's Wedding. 

*Barrie, J. M. Half Hours. Chas. Scribner, N. Y. Pan- 
taloon, Rosalind, Twelve Pound Look, The Will. 

Bennet, Arnold. Polite Farces. Farnley & Co., London. 
A Good Woman, A Question of Sex, The Stepmother. 

Brunner, Beatrice. Bits of Background. Alfred Knopf, 
N. Y. Over Age, The Spark of Life, Strangers. 
Making a Man. 

Cameron, Margaret. Comedies in Miniature. Doubleday 

148 



BOOKS OF ONE-ACT PLAYS 149 

& Page, N. Y. Miss Doulton's Orchids, The Burglar, 
The Kleptomaniac, A Pipe of Peace, A Committee on 
Matrimony. 

Cannan, Gilbert. Four Plays. Brentano. James and 
John, Mary's Wedding, Miles Dixon, A Short Way 
with Authors. 

Cooke, Marjorie B. Dramatic Episodes. Dr. Pub. Co., 
Chicago. A Court Comedy, Manners and Modes, The 
Confessional, The Child in the House, Lady Betty's 
Burglar, Dinner with Complications, Reform, Success, 
The Lion and the Lady, When Love is Young. 

Contemporary Spanish Dramatists, C. A. Turrell, Badger, 
Boston. Contains 6 plays, 

DeMusset, Alfred. Barberine. Dr. Pub. Co., Chicago. 
Barberine, Fantasio, No Trifling with Love, A Door 
Must Be Either Open or Shut, A Caprice, One Cannot 
Think of Everything. 

*Dix, Beulah M. Allison's Lad. Holt, N. Y. Allison's 
Lad, Captain of the Gate, Dark of the Dawn, The 
Hundredth Trick, The Snare and the Fowler, The 
Weakest Link. 

Dreiser, Theodore. Plays of Natural and Supernatural. 
John Lane, N. Y. The Girl in the Coffin, The Blue 
Sphere, Laughing Gas, In the Dark, Spring Recital, 
Light in the Window, The Old Rag-picker. 

*Dunsany, Lord. Four Plays. John Luce, Boston. 
Tents of the Arabs, Laughter of the Gods, The Queen's 
Enemies, A Night at an Inn. 

*Dunsany, Lord. Five Plays. Little, Brown & Co., Bos- 
ton. Gods of the Mountains, The Golden Age, King 
Argimenes and the Unknown Warrior, The Glittering 
Gate, The Lost Silk Hat. 

Ellis, Mrs. Havelock. Love in Danger. Houghton Miff- 
lin. The Subjection of Kezia, The Pixy, The Mothers. 



150 CHOOSING A PLAY 

Enander, Hilda. Three Plays. Richard Badger. In the 
Light of the Stone, The Man Who Did Not Under- 
stand, Western Like. 

Ervine, St. John. Four Irish Plays. Maunsel, London. 
The Magnanimous Lover, The Orangeman, The Crit- 
ics, Mixed Marriage. 

*Fitzmaurice, George. Five Plays. Little, Brown & Co., 
Boston. The Country Dressmaker, The Moonlighter, 
The Pie Dish, The Magic Glasses, The Dandy Dolls 
(Irish). 

Guild, Thatcher. The Power of God. U. 111. Press. 
Class of '56, The Higher Good, The Portrait. 

Giacosa, Guiseppe. Sacred Ground. Mitchell Kennerley. 
Falling Leaves, Sacred Ground, The Stronger. 

Goldoni, Carlo. Four Comedies. A. C. McClurg. A 
Curious Mishap, The Beneficent Bear, The Fan, The 
Spendthrift. 

Goodman, Kenneth S. Quick Curtains. Stage Guild, Chi- 
cago. Dust of the Road, A Game of Chess, Barbara, 
Ephraim and the Winged Bear, Back of the 
Yards, The Dancing Dolls, A Man Can Only Do His 
Best. 

*Graham, Bertna N. Spoiling the Broth. Samuel French, 
N. Y. Spoiling the Broth, The Rose with a Thorn, 
The Land of the Free, The Little Red Fox, Pitch and 
Toss, Oh, the Press. 

Green, Clay M. Four Plays. George Doran & Co. The 
Dispensation, The Star of Bethlehem, The Awakening 
of Barbizon, Through Christmas Bells. 

Gregory, Lady Augusta. New Comedies. Putnam, N. Y. 
Coats, The Full Moon, MacDonough's Wife, The Bogie 
Man, Daemer's Gold. 

^Gregory, Lady Augusta. Seven Short Plays. Putnam, 
N. Y. The Workhouse Ward, The Rising of the 



BOOKS OF ONE-ACT PLAYS 151 

Moon, The Jackdaw, Spreading the News, Hyacinth 

Halvey, The Traveling Man, The Gaol Gate. 
*Houghton, Stanley G. Five One-Act Plays. Samuel 

French, N. Y. The Dear Departed, Fancy Free, 

The Fifth Commandment, The Master of the House, 

Phipps. 
^Harvard Plays, Vol. 1. Brentano, N. Y. Three Pills in 

a Bottle, The Good Men Do, Two Crooks and a Lady, 

Free Speech. 
Harvard Plays, Vol. 2. Garafelia's Husband, The Harbor 

of Lost Ships, The Scales and the Sword, The Four 

Flushers. 
*Hay, Ian. The Crimson Cocoanut. Baker, Boston* A 

Late Delivery, The Crimson Cocoanut, The Missing 

Card. 
Jex, John. Passion Playlets. Cornhill Co., Detroit. 

Violet Souls, The Nest, Mr. Willoughly Calls, The 

Unnecessary Atom. 
* Jennings, Gertrude. Four One-Act Plays. French. 

The Rest Cure, The Pros and Cons, Acid Drops, 

Between the Soup and the Savory. 
Jones, Henry A. The Theater of Ideas. George Doran, 

N. Y. The Goal, Her Tongue, Grace Mary. 
*Kreymborg, Alfred. Plays for Poet Mimes. Sunwise 

Turn, N. Y. When William Nods, Jack's House, 

Lima Beans, Blue and Green, Manikin and Minikin, 

People Who Die. 
*Mackay, Constance D. The Beau of Bath. Henry Holt, 

N. Y. The Beau of Bath, The Silver Lining, Ashes 

of Roses, Gretna Green, Council Retained, Prince of 

Court Painters. 
*Mackay, Constance D. The Forest Princess. Henry 

Holt, N Y. Forest Princess, The Gift of Time, Con- 
servation, Pomona, The Sun Goddess. 



152 CHOOSING A PLAY 

*MacKaye, Percy. Yankee Fantasies. Duffield & Co., 
N. Y. The Antick Chuck, Gettysburg, Sam Average, 
The Cat Boat. 

*Manners, J. Hartley. Happiness. Dodd, Mead & Co., 
N. Y. Happiness, It's Just as Well, The Day of 
Dupes. 

*Marks, Janet. Three Welsh Plays. Little, Brown & Co. 
The Merry Merry Cuckoo, The Deacon's Hat, The 
Welsh Honeymoon. 

*Merrington, Marguerite. Festival Plays. Duffield & Co., 
N. Y. Father Time and His Children, Tertulla's Gar- 
den, Seven Sleepers of Ephesos, Princess Moss Rose, 
The Testing of Sir Gawayne, A Christmas Party. 

Middleton, George. Embers. Henry Holt & Co., N. Y. 
Embers, The Failures, The Gargoyle, In His House, 
Madonna, The Man Masterful. 

Middleton, George. Tradition. Henry Holt & Co., N. Y. 
The Cheat of Pity, On Bail, Their Wife, Waiting, 
Tradition, Mothers. 

Middleton, George. Possession. Henry Holt & Co., N. Y. 
Possession, The Groove, The Black Tie, A Good 
Woman, Circles, The Unborn. 

Middleton, George. Masks. Henry Holt & Co. Tides, 
Jim's Beast, The Reason, Among the Lions, The House. 

Morley, Malcolm. Told By The Gate. Gorham Press, 
Boston. Told By The Gate, The Masterpiece, Recol- 
lections, The Cosher, Beauty versus the Beast, A Motor 
Mishap. 

*MacMillan, Mary. Short Plays. Stewart & Kidd, Cin- 
cinnati. The Shadowed Star, The Ring, The Rose, 
Luck, Entr' Acts, A Fan and Two Candle-sticks, A 
Woman's A Woman for A' That. A Modern Masque, 
The Futurists, The Gate of Wishes. 

MacMillan, Mary. More Short Plays. Stewart & Kidd, 



BOOKS OF ONE-ACT PLAYS 153 

Cincinnati. His Second Girl, At the Church Door, 
Honey, The Dress Rehearsal of Hamlet, The Pioneers, 
In Mendelesia, The Dryad. 

Moeller, Phillip. Five Somewhat Historical Plays. Al- 
fred Knopf, N. Y. Helena's Husband, A Roadhouse 
in Arden, Sisters of Susannah, The Little Supper, 
Pokey, Burlesques. 

Morningside Plays. Pub. Frank Shay, N. Y. Hattie, 
One a Day, Markheim, The Home of the Free. 

Nirdlingler, Chas. Four Short Plays. Mitchell Ken- 
nerley. Big Kate, Look After Louise, The Real Peo- 
ple, Are n't They Wonders ? 

O'Neill, Eugene. The Moon of the Caribbees. Boni & 
Liveright, N. Y. Bound East For Cardiff, The Long 
Voyage Home, He, In the Zone, Where the Cross is 
Made, The Rope. 

O'Brien, Seumas. Duty (Irish). Little, Brown Co., Bos- 
ton. Duty, Jurisprudence, Magnanimity, Match- 
makers, Retribution. 

Oliver, Margaret Scott. Six One-Act Plays. Richard 
Badger, Boston. The Hand of the Prophet, Children 
of Grenada, The Turtle Dove, This Youth, Gentlemen, 
The Striker, Murdering Selina. 

Pinski, David. Six Plays of the Yiddish Theater. John 
Luce. Abigail, Forgotten Souls, She Must Marry a 
Doctor, Winter, In the Dark, The Sinner. 

Phillips, Stephen. Lyrics and Dramas. John Lane, N. Y. 
The King, The Adversary, Nero's Mother. 

*Provincetown Plays. Frank Shay, 137 Macdougal St., 
N. Y. Vol. 1 Bound East For Cardiff, The Game, 
King Arthur's Socks. Vol. 111., The Two Sons, Lima 
Beans, Before Breakfast. 

Paine, Ursula. Plays of Democracy. Harper & Co. The 
Vision of Columbus, At the Gate of Peace, The 



154 CHOOSING A PLAY 

Golden Star, The Highway of the King, The Con- 
version of Mrs. Slacker, The Hardships of Valley 

Forge. 
Reely, Mary K. Daily Bread. H. W. Wilson Co., N. Y. 

The Lean Years, A Window to the South. 
Representative One-Oct Plays. Mayorga. Little, Brown 

& Co., Boston. (Contains 24 of the best plays in this 

form together with bibliography. A most valuable 

book.) 
Schnitzler, Arthur. Comedies of Words. Stewart & Kidd. 

The Hour of Recognition, The Big Scene, The Festival 

of Bacchus, Helpmate, Literature. 
Sinclair, Upton. Plays of protest. Mitchell Kennerley. 

The Machine, The Nature Woman, The Second Story 

Man, Princess Hagen. 
Stevens, Thomas W. and Goodman, K. S. Masques of East 

and West. Lawrence Gomme, N. Y. The Daimio's 

Head, Masque of Montezuma, Caesar's Gods, Rainald 

and the Red Wolf, Masque of Quetzal's Bowl. 
Sudermann, Hermann. Morituri. Scribner, N. Y. Teja, 

Fritzchen, The Eternal Masculine. 
Sudermann, Hermann. Roses. Scribner, N. Y. The Far 

Away Princess, The Last Visit, Margot, Streaks of 

Light. 
Sutherland, Evelyn G. Po' White Trash. Dufiield & Co., 

N. Y. Po' White Trash, In Far Bohemia, The End 

of the Way, A Comedie Royall, A Bit of Instruction, 

A Song at the Castle, Rohan the Silent, At the Bara- 

cade, Galatea of the Toyshop. 
*Sutro, Alfred. Five Little Plays. Brentano, N. Y. The 

Bracelet, The Man in the Stalls, The Man on the Kerb, 

A Marriage Has Been Arranged. 
Tagore, Rabindranath. Sacrifice and other Plays. Mac- 

millan & Co. Sacrifice, The King & Queen, Molini, 

Sanyasi. 



BOOKS OF ONE-ACT PLAYS 155 

Torrence, Ridgely. Plays for a Negro Theater. Macmil- 
lan & Co. Granny Maumee, The Rider of Dreams, 
Simon the Cyrenean. 

Walker, Stuart. More Portmanteau Plays. Stewart & 
Kidd, Cincinnati, O. The Lady of the Weeping Wil- 
low Tree, The Very Naked Boy, Jonathan Makes a 
Wish. 

*Walker, Stuart. Portmanteau Plays. Stewart & Kidd, 
Cincinnati. The Trimplet, The Six Who Passed, 
Nevertheless, The Medicine Show. 

Wilde, Percival. Confessional. Henry Holt, N. Y. Con- 
fessional, The Villain in the Piece, According to Dar- 
win, The Question of Morality, The Beautiful Story. 

*Wilde, Percival. The Unseen Host and Other Plays. 
Little, Brown & Co. The Unseen Host, Mothers of 
Men, Pawns, In the Ravine, Valkyrie. 

*Wilde, Percival. Dawn. Henry Holt, N. Y. Dawn, 
The Noble Lord, The Traitor, Playing With Fire, The 
Finger of God. 

* Washington Square Plays. Doubleday & Page, N. Y. 
Overtones, The Clod, Eugenically Speaking, Helena's 
Husband. 

Watts, Mary S. Three Short Plays. MacMillan, N. Y. 
An Ancient Dance, Civilization, The Wearin' of the 
Green. 

*Wisconsin Plays. Vol. 1. W. B. Huebsch, N. Y. 
Neighbors, In Hospital, Glory of the Morning. 

Wisconsin Plays. Vol. 11. W. B. Huebsch, N. Y. The 
Feast of the Holy Innocents, On the Pier, The Shadow, 
We Live Again. 

*Yeats, Wm. B. The Hour Glass. Macmillan, N. Y. 
The Hour Glass, Cathleen ni Hoolihan, A Plot of 
Broth. 



156 CHOOSING A PLAY 

One-act plays from various countries may be 
found as follows : 

Modern Icelandic Plays, American Scandinavian Founda- 
tion Society, N. Y. 

The Treasurers (Yiddish), David Pinski, Huebsch, N. Y. 

Plays from the Russian. Ostrosky. Scribner. 

Four Plays from the Spanish. Benavente. Scribner. 

Five One-Act Plays from the Spanish appeared in the 
"Drama Quarterly/' for May, 1915. 

Five Russian Plays. E. P. Dutton, N. Y. 



SECTION VIII 

PLAYS POSSIBLE FOR OUTDOOR PRODUCTION 

Antick, The, MacKaye. (In "Yankee Fantasies.") 

Arrow Maker, The, Austin, Duffield & Co., N. Y. 

Beyond the Gate, Crandall, Fr. 

Chaplet of Pan, Rice & Stevens, Stage Guild, Chicago, 1527 
Railway Exchange Building. 

Comus, Milton, Music Prof. Lewis, Tuft's College. 

Columbine, Arkell, Fr. 

Chuck, MacKaye. (In "Yankee Fantasies/') 

Canterbury Pilgrims, The, MacKaye, Brentano. 

Chinese Lantern, The, Hauseman, Dr. P. Co. 

Demeter and Persephone, Stevens, Music by Colburn, 
Drama League, Chicago. 

Dryad and the Deacon, The, Bates, Drama, Mar. 1920. 

Engaged by Wednesday, Owen, Bk. 

Endymion, Warren, Bk. 

Edge of the Wood, The, Roof, Dr. Feb. 1920. 

Four Masques For Out-of-Doors, Carman & King, Bren- 
tano. 

Foresters, The, Tennyson, Music by Arthur Sullivan. 

Falcon, The, Tennyson. 

Forest Princess, The, MacKaye. (In "The Forest Prin- 
cess.") 

Good of the Wood, The, Gireaudeau, "Drama," June, 1920. 

Gold, Myrtle, Music by Stewart. 

Glory of the Morning, Leonard. (In "Wisconsin Plays.") 

Heart of Pierrot, The, Scott, Dr. 2-20— (children). 

157 



158 CHOOSING A PLAY 

King Rene's Daughter, Herz, Bk. 

Lost, A Chaperone, Maulsby, Bk. 

Lost Pleiad, The, Drasefield, Sunwise Turn. 

Masque of Conservation, A, Mackay. (In "The Forest 
Princess.") 

Masque of Pomona, The, MacKaye. (In "The Forest Prin- 
cess.") 

Meadow Gold (children), University of Wisconsin exten- 
sion. 

Poor John, Sierra, trans. Underhill, Dr. Feb. 1920. 

Prunella, Hausman, Dr. P. Co. 

Pandora, Longfellow (possible for children). 

Pioneers, The, Mackay. (In "The Forest Princess.") 

Pierrot of the Minute, The, Dowson, Mosher. 

Pioneers, The, Oppenheim, Huebsch. 

Queen's Hour, The, McCauley, Drama, June, 1920. 

Quay of Magic Things, The, Mosher, Dr. Feb., 1920. 

Red Cap, Keyes, Bk. (possible for children). 

Robin of Sherwood, Yale Press. 

Radisson, Long, Holt. 

Romancers, The, Rostand, Fr. 

Sanctuary, The (Bird Masque), MacKaye, Stokes. 

Sweethearts, Gilbert, D. & F. 

Sun Goddess, The, MacKaye. (In "The Forest Princess.") 

Sakoontala (Hindu) translation Williams, Dodd, Mead. 

Shepherd, The, Dargan. 

Sherwood, Noyes. 

Sleeping Beauty, Dubois, Brentano (possible for children). 

Three Chauffeurs, The (girls), Chatterton. Fr. 

Tune of a Tune, A, Totheroh, "Drama," Feb., 1920. 

"Woods of Ida" Masque of 40 years before fall of Troy, 
Dargan, "Century," Aug., '1907. 

Well of the Saints, The, Synge. 

Shakespeare's plays and the plays of the Greeks. 



SECTION IX 

PLAYS FOR STUDY AND SCENE WORK 

Barrie, J. M. What Every Woman Knows. 

Bennett, Arnold The Honeymoon, The Great Adventure, 

Milestones. 
Browning, Robert. In a Balcony. 

Burnett, Frances H. The Dawn of a Tomorrow, Esmer- 
alda. 
Galsworthy, John. The Pigeon, Strife, Justice, The Little 

Dream. 
Hauptman, Gerhart. The Sunken Bell, Hannele. 
Hausman, Robert. Prunella. 
Ibsen, Hendrik. The Doll's House, Pillars of Society, 

Brand, Rosmersholm. 
Jerome, J. K. The Passing of the Third Floor Back. 
Kennedy, Charles R. The Winter Feast, The Servant in 

the House. 
Knoblauch, Edward. The Faun, My Lady's Dress. 
Long, John L. Madam Butterfly. 
MacKaye, Percy. Mater, The Scarecrow, Jean D'Arc, 

Tomorrow, A Thousand Years Ago. 
Masefield, John. Nan. 
Materlinck, Maurice. Pelleas and Melisande, The Blue 

B^d, Monna Vanna, Sister Beatrice, The Betrothal. 
Moffat, Graham. Bunty Pulls the Strings. 
Moody, William V. The Great Divide, The Faith Healer. 
Parker, Louis N. Disraeli, Pomander Walk. 

159 



160 CHOOSING A PLAY 

Peabody, Josephine P. The Piper. 

Phillips, Stephen. Herod, Ulysses, Paolo and Francesca. 

Pinero, Arthur W. Sweet Lavender. 

Rostand, Edmund. The Princess Faraway, Chantecleer, 

L'Aiglon, The Romancers, Cyrano De Bergerac. 
Shaw, Bernard. Caesar and Cleopatra, Fanny's First Play, 

You Never Can Tell, Candida, Androcles and the Lion. 
Suderman, Hermann. Magda, The Faraway Princess, 

Roses. 
Synge, J. M. Riders to the Sea. 
Tarkington, Booth. Monsieur Beaucaire. 
Thomas, Augustus. The Witching Hour, As a Man Thinks. 
Wentworth, Marion C. The Flower Shop, War Brides. 
Yeats, William B. The Land of Heart's Desire, The Hour 

Glass, The Pot of Broth. 
Zamacois, Miguel. The Jesters. 
Zangwill, Israel. Merely Mary Ann. 



SECTION X 

BOOKS OF PLAYS FOR CHILDREN 

Colonial Plays in School, Educational Pub. Co. 
Dramatic Festivals, Craig, Putnam. 
Dramatic Reader, Gardner, Educational Pub. Co. 
Dramatic Sketches for Grades, Boone, Dramatic Pub. Co., 

Chicago. 
Dramatization, Simons & Orr, Scott, Foresman & Co. 
Dramatizations, Frances E. Clark, "Popular Educator," 

Oct., 1911. 
Dramatic Reader, Wood, Longmans, Green, N. Y. 
Dramatizations of School Classics, Lazelle, Educational 

Pub. Co. 
Everybody and Other Plays, Anderson, Shakespeare Press, 

N. Y. 
Four Plays For Children, Sidgwick, Small, Maynard, 

Boston. 
Festival Plays, Merrington, Duffield, N. Y. 
Folk Festivals, Needham, Huebsch, N. Y. 
Harper's Book of Little Plays, Barnum, Harper, N. Y. 
Historical Plays for Children, Birr, Macmillan & Co., N. Y. 
House of the Heart, The, MacKaye, Holt. Contents: The 

Silver Thread, The Forest Princess. 
How to Produce Children's Plays, MacKaye, Holt, N. Y. 
Holiday Plays, Merrington, Duffield & Co., N. Y. 
Historical Plays of Colonial Days, Tucker, L. E. Longmans, 

Green, N. Y. 

161 



162 CHOOSING A PLAY 

Little Plays from American History, Walker, Holt, N. Y. 
Little Dramas for Primary Grades, Skinner & Lawrence, 

American Bk. Co. 
Land of Make-Believe, The, Gardener, Educational Pub. 

Co., Chicago, 111. 
Little Plays for Little Players, Hagar, "Primary Educa- 
tion," Jan., 1912. 
Neptune's Isle, Chapman, Moffat, Yard, N. Y. 
Plays for School Children, Lutkenhaus, The Century Co., 

N. Y. 
Patriotic Plays and Pageants, Mackay, Holt. 
Patriotic Pageants of Today, Thorpe and Kimball, Holt, 

N. Y. 
Plays of the Pioneers, MacKaye, Harper & Bors., N. Y. 
Short Plays About Famous Authors, Frank, Holt, N. Y. 
Short Plays from Dickens, Browne, Scribner, N. Y. 
School-room Plays and Exercises, Allen, Educational Pub. 

Co., Boston and N. Y. 
Story Plays for Little Ones, Maguire, Educational Pub. 

Co., Boston and N. Y. 
St. Nicholas Book of Plays, The Century Co. 
Tales and Plays of Robin Hood, Skinner, American Bk. Co. 



SECTION XI 

Other bibliographical lists of plays may be 
found as follows : 

Actable One-Act Plays, Chicago Public Library. 
Bibliography of Published Plays Available in English, 

World Drama Prompters, La Jolla, Cal. 
Chandler, In "Aspects of Modern Drama." 
Cheney, In 'The Art Theater." 

Clapp, Plays for Amateurs, Drama League, Chicago, 111. 
Clark, In "How to Produce Amateur Plays." 
Dickinson, In "The Insurgent Theater." 
Drama League Calendar, Oct. 1, 1918, N. Y. 
Drama League, Boston, Mass., Selective List of Plays for 

Amateurs. 
Dramatic Index, available in most libraries, edited by F. W. 

Faxon, Boston, publishes a complete list of plays writ- 
ten and produced from year to year. 
"English Journal," Sept., 1919, Plays for the Time (before 

the Armistice). 
"English Journal," Mar., 1918, Some Continental Plays for 

Amateurs. 
"English Journal," Feb., 1918, Better High School Plays. 
"Education," Vol. 4, p. 372, 1918, One-Act Plays for 

Schools and Colleges. 
French, New York, Guide to Selecting Plays. 
Lewis, In "The Technique of the One-Act Play." 
Lewis, In Extension Series No. 2, U. of Utah. 

163 



164 CHOOSING A PLAY 

McFadden, E. A., 113 Lake View Ave., Cambridge, Mass., 
Selected List of Plays for Amateurs. 

MacKaye, In "The Little Theater in the United States." 

"Public Speaking Review," Nov., 1912, Plays for High 
Schools and Colleges. (Magazine may be obtained 
from Hinds & Noble, N. Y.). 

"Quarterly Journal of Speech Education," Oct., 1915, 
Fifty One-Act Plays. 

"Quarterly Journal of Speech Education," July, 1916, High 
School Plays. 

"Quarterly Journal of Speech Education," Oct., 1918, One- 
Act Plays for Schools and Colleges. 

Riley, In "Drama League Monthly," Feb., 1918, The One- 
Act Play-Study Course. 

Swartout, Summit, N. J., List "One Hundred and One Good 
Plays. 

Stratton, 4477 Pershing Ave., St. Louis, Mo., "One Hun- 
dred Plays Suitable for Amateurs." 



SECTION XII 

MAGAZINES AND PERIODICALS OF ASSISTANCE 

There are many magazines and periodicals 
which furnish a large amount of information and 
assistance for all those working in dramatic lines, 
and these should be perused with care by all who 
have to do any great amount of directing. If 
possible, the school library should have one or 
more of these available, certainly the town library 
can furnish them. "The Drama," a monthly re- 
view published by the Drama League of America, 
has in the past year changed its policy and is a 
much more helpful source for the director than 
ever before. It is published in Chicago, 59 E. 
Van Buren Street. "The Theater Arts Maga- 
zine," published in New York, is one of the great- 
est helps and inspirations to the worker in dra- 
matics, and deals entirely with matters dramatic. 

"Poetry" and "Poet Lore" frequently publish 

165 - 



166 CHOOSING A PLAY 

plays and other helpful suggestions. "Current 
Opinion" publishes each month an excerpt from 
one of the leading New York plays, and it is 
so complete an excerpt as to make a knowledge 
of the play as a whole quite adequate. It is of 
the greatest value in helping one to keep in touch 
with the yearly productions. 

"The* Christian Science Monitor" has a very 
good theatrical page in each Tuesday edition and 
other good reviews are found in the New York 
"Times," "Sun" and "Post," as well as in the 
"Boston Transcript." It is necessary to keep in 
touch with a large number of periodicals if one 
wishes to be well informed in matters of dramatic 
interest. 

The "North American Review," "The Book- 
man," the "American Magazine," "The Century 
Magazine" and even "Munsey's" and "The Sat- 
urday Evening Post" frequently have articles of 
vital interest, to say nothing of magazines which 
we usually rank much lower. 

If one can have access to "The Fortnightly Re- 
view," published in England, much more desir- 
able and interesting material will be available. 



MAGAZINES 16T 

Again I urge directors to be alive to their duties 
by much reading, we have too long taken amateur 
dramatics too easily ourselves and so can expect 
little else from those to whom we administer 
them. 



SECTION XIII 

BOOKS AND ARTICLES ON PAGEANTRY 

Books 

Burleigh. Community Drama, Little, Brown, Boston. 

Bates, E. W. Pageants and Pageantry, New York, Ginn 
&Co. 

Beegle, Crawford. Community Drama and Pageantry, 
Yale University Press. 

Cheney, S. The Open Air Theater, Kennerley, N. Y. 

Craig, A. A. T. The Dramatic Festival, Kennerley, N. Y. 

Chubb, P. Festivals and Plays, Harper & Co., N. Y. 

Davol, Ralph. Handbook of American Pageantry, Taun- 
ton, Mass. 

Hatcher, O. L. A Book for Shakespeare Plays and Page- 
ants, New York. 

Mackay, C. D. Patriotic Plays and Pageants, New York. 
Henry Holt. 

Mackay, C. D. Patriotic Drama in Your Town, Holt, N. Y. 

MacKaye, P. W. The Civic Theater, New York. 

MacKaye, P. W. The Play House and the Play, Mac- 
millan & Co., N. Y. 

Needham, Mrs. Mary M. Folk Festivals, Their Growth 
and How to Give Them, New York. 

Bulletins and Pamphlets 

Bulletins of the American Pageant Association, Mary Porter 
Beegle, Secretary, Barnard College, New York. 
168 



BOOKS ON PAGEANTRY 169 

Bulletins of the Indiana Historical Commission, State 
House, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1915. 

Bulletin of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Bulle- 
tin of Information No. 84, July, 1916. 

Articles 

The list was prepared from material furnished by the 
United States Bureau of Education, from "Sources of 
Information on Play and Recreation" (New York, Russell 
Sage Foundation, 1915) and from other sources. 

American Historical Pageants. "Independent," 63:166- 
67, July 18, 1907. 

Baker, G. P. What the Pageant Can Do for the Town, 
"Ladies' Home Journal," 31:44, April, 1914. 

Bland, Henry M. California May Fete, "Overland 
Monthly," 1, n.s. 52: 248-49, September, 1908. Illus. 

Chessire, J. K. C. Bethlehem Tableaux, New York, E. P. 
Dutton, 1913, 102 pp., Illus. 

Clark, Lotta A. Pageants and Local History, "History 
Teachers' Magazine," V., 287. 

Coleman, A. I. du Pont. Oxford Pageant, "Bookman," 
25:349-51, June, 1907. 

Columbus Day. Fitchburg (Mass.) Normal School, "Jour- 
nal of Education," 74: 238-39, 244, September 7, 1911, 
Illus. 

Coburn, Frederick W. The Educational Pageant at Bos- 
ton, "School Journal," 76: 52-53, October, 1908, Illus. 

Corbin, A. M., and Fisher, E. V. Making of a Festival, 
"Playground," 5:355-60, January, 1912. 

Dickinson, T. H. The Pageant, History, Structure and 
Uses, The Play Book, September, 1914. 

Dye, Charity. The Historical Pageant in the Schools, 
"Atlantic Educational Journal," 6:90, 207-10, No- 
vember, 1910; February, 1911, Illus. 



170 CHOOSING A PLAY 

The Dramatizing of History Material, "Indiana Uni- 
versity Bulletin/' 13: No. 10, p. 20, September, 1915. 

Foster, Paul Pinkerton. Reviving the Elizabethan Page- 
ant, "World Today," 15:827-33, August, 1908, Illus. 

Farnsworth, Charles F. Festival Course at Dartmouth, 
"Independent," 73: 371-74, August 15, 1912. 

Farwell, A. Pageant and Masque at St. Louis — A People's 
Drama on a National Scale, "American Review of Re- 
views," 50:187-93, August, 1914, Illus. 

Festivals, "Atlantic Educational Journal," a monthly de- 
partment conducted by Prof. P. W. Dykema, Balti- 
more, Md. 

Historical Pageant at Warwick, England, "Review of Re- 
views," 34: 201-202, August, 1906, Illus. 

Hudson-Fulton Celebration, Children's Festivals, "Play- 
ground," 3: 1-10, November, 1909, Illus. 

Johnson, Martyn. Chicago's Renaissance, "Putnam's 
Magazine," 6:41-47, April, 1909. 

Langdon, William Chauncey. The Deerfield Pageant 
(Deerfield, Mass., July 14, 15, 16, 1910), "Play- 
ground," 4: 417-28. March, 1911, Illus. 

The Pageant of the Perfect City, "Playground," 5:2-17, 
April, 1911, Illus. 

Philadelphia Historical Pageant, "Survey," 29: 215-18, No- 
vember 23, 1912. 

Suggestions for the celebration of the Fourth of July by 
means of pageantry . . . with an article and notes on 
the music by Arthur Farwell, New York, Division 
of Recreation of the Russell Sage Foundation, 1912, 
56 pp., 8. 

Pageant of Meridan, N. H., "American City," 10:355-61, 
April, 1914. 

Pageant of St. Johnsbury, "American City," 8:481-87, 
May, 1913. 



BOOKS ON PAGEANTRY 171 

Koch, F. H. Amateur Values in Pageantry, Quarterly 
Journal of Speech Education, Oct., 1915. 

Koch, F. H. Creative Instinct in Play-Making, "English 
Journal," May, 1920. 

Lincoln, Jeannette E. C. Festival Book, New York, A. S. 
Barnes & Co., 1912, 74 pp. 

Lord, Katherine. Pageant of the Evolution of Industry, 
"Playground," 5:407-410, March, 1912. 

Mackay, C. D. Out-of-Doors Dramatics and How to Pre- 
pare for Them, "Ladies' Home World," May, 1915. 

MacKaye, Percy. St. Louis — A Civic Masque, New York, 
Doubleday, Page, 1914, 99 pp. 

MacTavish, Newton. Our Three Hundredth Birthday, 
"Canadian Magazine," 31:386-401, September, 1908, 
Illus. 

Maercklein, Brudette Crane. Historic Pageants and Spec- 
tacles enacted at Hartford during the great bridge fete, 
"New England Magazine," n.s. 39: 426-33, December, 
1908, Illus. 

Mero, E. B. Value of Holidays in the Building of Citizen- 
ship, "American City," p: 354-367, October, 1913. 

McReynolds, George. The Centennial Pageant for In- 
diana — Suggestions for its performance, "Indiana 
Magazine of History," September, 1915. 

Needham, Mary Master. Folk Festivals: Their Growth 
and How to Give Them, New York, Huebsch, 1912, 
244 pp. 

Oberholtzer, Ellis Paxson. Historical Pageant, "History 
Teachers' Magazine," 1:167-68, April, 1910. 

Old Quebec's Tercentenary Pictures, "World Today," 15: 
679-84, July, 1908. 

Pearson, Alvick A. Tournament of Roses, "Overland 
Monthly," n.s. 40: 97-112, February, 1907, Illus. 



172 CHOOSING A PLAY 

Philadelphia's Pageant, 1912. "Outlook/' 103:89-91, 
January, 1913. 

Schauffler, Robert H. Our American Holidays, New York, 
Moffatt, Yard & Co. 

"Spectator" (pseud.) Scenes at Quebec, "Outlook," 89: 885- 
92, August 22, 1908. 

Stevens, Thomas W., and Goodman, Kenneth S. Pageant 
for Independence Day, Chicago, State Guild. 

Stevens, Thomas Wood. The Pageant as a School Exer- 
cise, "School Arts Book," 11 : 1003-11, June, 1912. 

Stewart, Jane A. Philadelphia's Birthday, "School Jour- 
nal," 76: 101-102, November, 1908. 

Taintor, J. F. An Historical Pageant in a Small College 
Town, "Playground," 4: 357-63, February, 1911, Illus. 
Ripon, Wisconsin, June 14, 1910. Rural Pageant, 
Ripon, Wis., "Playground," 7:240-256, September, 
1913. 

Thoburn, Helen. Pageantry in Country Places, "Rural 
Manhood," 4:323-327, November, 1913. 

Turnbull, George. English Historical Pageants, "World's 
Work," 15:9659-74, December, 1907, Illus. 

Wade, H. T. What the Pageant Does for Local History, 
"American Review of Reviews," September, 1913. 

Wright, W. H. California Historical Pageant, "Inde- 
pendent," 72: 1090-93, May 23, 1912. 



SECTION XIV 

BOOKS AND ARTICLES ON DRAMATIZATION IN 
SCHOOL WORK 

Abbott, Allan. A High School Course in Drama, "English 
Journal/' 2:93-98, February, 1913. 

Barney, Mabel I. The Dramatic Instinct in the Elemen- 
tary School, including the Pilgrim Play, "Teachers' 
College Record," 8: 118-26, May, 1907. 

The College Play— What is Being Done With It and What 
Can Be Done With It, "Public Speaking Review/' 
, 3:5-11, May, 1913. 

Carter, Elsie H. Christmas Candles, New York, Henry 
Holt & Co., 1915. 

Clapp, John M. Plays for Amateurs, Drama League of 
America, 1915, 44 pp. 

Cone, Adelia W. The Value of Dramatics in the Secondary 
School, "Ohio Educational Monthly," 61 : 462-64, Sep- 
tember, 1912. 

Craig, Anne Throop. The Development of a Dramatic 
Element in Education, "Pedagogical Seminary," 15: 
75-81, March, 1908. 

Curtis, Eleanora W. Dramatic Instinct in Education, 
New York, Houghton, Mifflin, 1914, 245 pp. 

Dorey, J. Milnor. A School Course in Dramatics, "Eng- 
lish Journal," 1 : 425-30, September, 1912. 

Dramatization a Factor in School Education, "School and 
Home Education," 29: 13-22, September, 1909. 
173 



174 CHOOSING A PLAY 

Dryer, Mabel Elizabeth. The Making of a Play, "Ele- 
mentary School Teacher," 8:423-36, April, 1908. 

Finlay-Johnson, Harriet. The Dramatic Method of Teach- 
ing, London, J. Nisbet & Co., 256 pp., Illus. 12. 

Fleming, Martha. The Making of a Play, "Elementary 
School Teacher," 8:15-23, September, 1907. 

Fry, Emma S. Education Dramatics, New York, Moffat, 
Yard, 1913, 69 pp. 

Guide and Index to Plays, Festivals and Masques, compiled 
by Association of Neighborhood Workers, New York, 
Harper's, 1913, 44 pp. 

Guild, Thacher H. Suggestions for the High School Play, 
"English Journal," 2:637-46, December, 1913. 
Reprinted from the April "Bulletin of the Illinois As- 
sociation of Teachers of English." 
Gives a list of some plays which have proved success- 
ful at the University of Illinois and the local 
schools. 

Hall, Jennie. Some Plans of Dramatic Representation in 
Primary Grades, "Elementary School Teacher," 4: 
566-78, April, 1904. 

Heniger, A. M. H. Drama's Value for Children, "Good 
Housekeeping," 56: 636-647, November, 1913, Illus. 

Herr, Charlotte B. The Value of Dramatic Work in the 
Teaching of English, "Journal of Education," 67: 95- 
97, January 23, 1908. 

Johnson, Dramatic Method of Teaching, Ginn & Co. 

MacClintock, Porter Lander. Drama. In His Literature 
in the Elementary School, Chicago, University of Chi- 
cago Press, 1907, pp. 212-28. 

Mackay, Clarence D'Arcy. Costumes and Scenery for 
Amateurs, New York, Henry Holt, 1915. 
How to Produce Children's Plays, New York, Henry 
Holt, 1915, 151 pp. 



BOOKS ON DRAMATIZATION 175 

Oglevay, Kate. Plays for Children, Drama League of 
America, 1915, 15 pp. 

O'Shea, Michael Vincent. The Dramatization of School 
Work, "Outlook," 89:93-94, May, 1908. 

Payne, Bertha. Dramatic Play in the Kindergarten, 
"Elementary School Teacher," 4: 588-93, April, 1904. 

Purcell, Helen Elizabeth. Children's Dramatic Interest 
and How This May Be Utilized in Education, "Ele- 
mentary School Teacher," 7:510-18, May, 1907. 

Scherz, T. J. How Dramatization of Stories Helps in 
Teaching Modern Languages, "Francis W. Parker's 
School Yearbook," 4: 147-153, June, 1915. 

Smith, John Talbot. The College Drama, "Catholic Edu- 
cational Review," 7:315-24, April, 1914. 
The Drama in the School, "Catholic Educational Re- 
view," 4: 364-71, October, 1912. 

Specimen School Dramas, "Catholic Educational Re- 
view," 4:398-408, November, 1912. 

Spaulding, Alice Howard. The Drama and the Public 
Schools, "Pittsburgh School Bulletin," 6:1468-71, 
1497-1501, November, December, 1912. 

Welch, John S. Dramatization. In His Literature in the 
School — Aims, Methods, and Interpretations, New 
York (etc.), Silver, Burdett & Company (1910), pp. 
59-63. 

Woodbury, Sarah E. Dramatization in the Grammar 
Grades, Los Angeles, Baumgardt Publishing Co., 1909, 
49 pp., Illus. 12. 



SECTION XV 

BOOKS ABOUT THE THEATER AND ACTING 

Actors and the Art of Acting, Lewes, Henry Holt & Co. 
American Dramatist, Moses, Little, Brown & Co. 
American Stage Today, Eaton, Small, Maynard & Co. 
Appreciation of the Drama, Caffin, Baker, Taylor Co. 
Art Theater, The, Cheney, Alfred Knopf. 
Aspects of Modern Drama, Chandler, Macmillan & Co. 
Case of the American Drama, Dickinson, Houghton, Mifflin 

Co. 
Changing Drama, The, Henderson, Henry Holt & Co. 
Civic Theater, The, MacKaye, Mitchell Kennerley. 
Community Theater, The, Burleigh, Little, Brown & Co. 
Costumes and Scenery for Amateurs, Mackay, Henry Holt 

& Co. 
Drama of Today, The, Andrews, J. B. Lippincott. 
Dramatic Values, Montague, Macmillan & Co. 
Dramatic Technique, Baker, Houghton, Mifflin Co. 
Essays on Modern Dramatists, Phelps, Macmillan & Co. 
Future of the Theater, The, Palmer, G. Bell & Sons. 
How to Produce Amateur Plays, Clark, Little, Brown & Co. 
How to See a Play, Burton, Macmillan & Co. 
How's Your Second Act? Hopkins, Phillip Goodman, N. Y. 
Iconoclasts, Huneker, Chas. Scribner Co. 
Insurgent Theater, The, Dickinson, W. B. Huebsch & Co. 
Little Theater in the United States, Mackay, Henry Holt 

&Co. 
Masques or Faces, Archer, Longmans, Green Co. 
Modern Drama, Lewisohn, W. B. Huebsch. 

176 



BOOKS ABOUT THE THEATER 177 

New American Drama, The, Burton, Thos. Crowell. 

New Movement in the Theater, The, Cheney, Mitchell 
Kennerley. 

New Spirit in Drama and Art, The, Carter, Mitchell 
Kennerley. 

On Acting, Matthews, Chas. Scribner. 

Open Air Theater, The, Cheney. Mitchell Kennerley. 

On the Art of the Theater, Craig, Brown's Bank, Chicago. 

Patriotic Drama in Your Town, Mackay, Henry Holt & Co. 

People's Theater, The, Rolland, Henry Holt & Co. 

Playhouse and the Play, The, MacKaye, Macmillan & Co. 

Play Making, Archer, Small, Maynard & Co. 

Play of Today, The, Hunt, John Lane Co. 

Play Production in America, Krows, Henry Holt & Co. 

Plays and Players, Eaton, Stewart, Kidd & Co. 

Practical Stage Directing for Amateurs, Taylor, E. P. 
Dutton & Co. 

Principles of Drama Therapy, Austin, Frank Shay, N. Y. 

Problems of the Actor, Calvert, Henry Holt & Co. 

Problems of the Playwright, Hamilton, Henry Holt & Co. 

Romance of the American Theater, Crawford, Little, Brown 
& Co. 

Studies in Stagecraft, Hamilton, Henry Holt & Co. 

Study of The Drama, Matthews, Chas. Scribner & Co. 

Technique of the Drama, Baker, Houghton, Mifflin. 

Technique of The Drama, Price, Brentano, N. Y. 

Theater of Today, The, Moderwell, John Lane & Co. 

Theater of Max Reinhardt, The, Carter, Mitchell Kenner- 
ley. 

Theory of the Theater, The, Hamilton, Henry Holt & Co. 

Towards a New Theater, Craig, E. P. Dutton & Co. 

Training for the Stage, Hornblow, J. B. Lippincott. 

Technique of the One- Act Play, Lewis, John Luce & Co. 

Twentieth Century Theater, The, Phelps, Macmillan & Co. 

THE END 



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